These are exciting days at FBC and it is a privilege to be a part of what God is doing in our world!

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2 Dear First Baptist Family, The Budget, Finance, and Stewardship Committee has been working hard to bring a budget proposal to our membership. Each year, this is a challenging and important part of our seeking to be responsible to the Lord with our tithes and offerings. As you look at the budget, please note some of the facts that have been taken into consideration as we seek to prepare for the future: From , our budget has increased from $1,018,570 to $1,337,802, an increase of 31.3%. The only year FBC failed to meet budget was in Since 2006, the FBC World Mission Offering has increased from $70,000 to $139,000. As you can tell, the WMO goal has nearly doubled (98.6%) since FBC has met the WMO goal every year. Of the proposed 2017 WMO budget, $96,500 (69%) is going directly to our Southern Baptist Convention Mission Agencies which also benefit directly from the Cooperative Program.. When you add the two categories of missions giving through CP and WMO, FBC has given an average of over $250,000 to missions each year for the past five years! At one point during this period, FBC ranked in the top 2% of 50,000 SBC churches per capita giving. During this same period, we were in the top 1% of all SBC churches in giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, which comes through our local FBC giving to our World Mission Offering. First Baptist Murray is a leading church in giving to the Cooperative Program and SBC Mission Offerings in the entire Southern Baptist Convention. Bottom line: FBC Murray has seen a great increase in Great Commission giving these past 10 years! As the church staff, BFS Committee, and deacons have scrutinized our current budget situation, the consensus has been to be to develop a conservative budget for next year in view of the fact that we are undertaking a major building campaign. Part of this will be reflected in our Cooperative Program giving. The previous information above is given so that you might know that our commitment to the CP is strong and the percentage cut is much less than the staff has proposed for their budget areas. I am glad to report that our current spending compliments our receipts. While we currently have a shortfall in budget receipts, we are not spending more than we take in. As in the past, we anticipate a surge in giving at the end of the year. However, with the kickoff of our Building Campaign, we are seeking to be wise in projected giving. The proposed 2017 budget represents a 5.5% decrease ($76,499) from the current 2016 budget. This adjustment is more in line with what we trust will be our actual receipts for the coming year. These are exciting days at FBC and it is a privilege to be a part of what God is doing in our world! Keith

3 First Baptist Church, Murray 2017 Operating Budget A detailed budget is available in the church office and at the December 4 business meeting. A vote by paper ballot will be Sunday, December 11 during the combined worship service at 11:00 am.

4 Xtreme Winter Conference in Gatlinburg, TN is around the corner! You can check out the programming for this 3 day event on their website at com. The total cost per person is $130. If you would like to sponsor a student on this trip, please talk with Jon Kyle. LifeGroup s will be ending on Sunday, November 20th and will not pick back up until mid-january. LifeGroup s meet on Sunday nights at 5pm in the home of a youth parent. Teens are separated into age and gender specific groups to discuss biblical truth while having fellowship with one another! The FBC Student Ministry Christmas Party will be on Sunday, December 5pm in the home of Dan and Angel Renick. There will be food, games, and each student is asked to bring a $10 neutral gender gift. Jon Kyle Our next potluck is scheduled for noon on Monday, November 28. We will have the Murray Woman s Club Ensemble join us to help us kick off the Christmas season. The meat will be provided, so you can bring a side dish or dessert. It will be a lot of fun so be sure to come out and enjoy it with us. Mark your calendars for January 23, We will have a Potluck Luncheon & Gift noon in the Fellowship Hall. Boyd We are putting in the final rehearsals on this year s Christmas musical, Imagine. It has been a pleasure to work with our Sanctuary Choir and others who have joined us for this effort. Christmas time will be special at FBC this year as we will enjoy hearing our children sing for us on November 30 and our Adults on December 11. As of this time, we are attempting to put together a group of experienced Handbell players to play bells for Christmas Eve and for Christmas morning. Those rehearsals will be on December 4 and December 18. This is a busy but a fulfilling time for those of us involved with music at FBC. Christmas is a time when music assumes an important role in our Worship. It is great to have so many who are so talented at FBC. It is my delight to work with them. Be sure to invite your family and friends to these opportunities for Christmas worship at FBC. It is our desire that through this season, someone might indeed find that the Christ of Christmas desires to have a place in their heart and life. God bless you this HOLYday season! Mike

5 As Thanksgiving and Christmas are quickly approaching, I want to encourage you to seek out opportunities to pause, breathe, and soak in the real purpose of this season...a heart of gratitude to God for His blessings in our lives and the birth of our Savior! In the hustle and bustle of this time of year, it is so easy to forget why we re here, and I forget that I have to teach these things to my children. What an opportunity would be missed if all they learn from me in this season is that it s busy and stressful and all about the material stuff! As I read God s Word in Joshua 22, God gently reminds my heart that He has given me ordinary things in my life to remind me of His faithfulness. As the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on dry land for the 2nd time, they picked up stones from the middle of the river to set as an altar on the other side. God used plain old river rocks as a symbol, an Altar of Remembrance, for His people so that they would have to explain their purpose to their children and would thus be reminded of God s faithfulness in their lives. Seek these things out in your own life. This time of year, they could look like Christmas ornaments that have a special significance in your faith journey. Or, they may be a picture, a scar, or a plain old rock. Whatever it is, take time at some point in this busy season to pause and tell your kids the story of God s faithfulness. If you don t currently have a symbol, find one, make one, or buy one! Choose to see the ordinary things as reminders of our extraordinary God and His never failing faithfulness to us every day. The kids have been working really hard on the Christmas musical for this year, Josie and the Jinglicious Dream Lamp. We want to give you the chance to come and pause with us to enjoy this presentation on Wednesday, November 30th, at 6:00 p.m. There will be a chili supper starting at 5:00 in the Fellowship Hall, and we will have refreshments afterwards to enjoy with our families. If you would like to come to the chili supper, please contact the church office by noon on Monday, November 28 to make reservations. Come enjoy this kick-off to the Christmas season! We will also have another opportunity to pause in the busyness with a Christmas Reflections service on Wednesday, December 14th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. This come-and-go event will be appropriate for all ages and will take a look at the characters involved in the Christmas story. This will be a great opportunity to, as a family, come and work your way through 5 stations that take a look at Mary & Joseph, Jesus, the angels, the Shepherds, and the Wise men. We are looking forward to this special evening, and would love for you to join us! Within will have their monthly meetings for December. Join us on either Friday, December 2nd at 9:00 a.m. or Monday, December 12th at 6:00 p.m., for an Ornament Exchange and Christmas Party! Both are sure to be fun and full of laughter and fellowship! As always, food and childcare are provided. Moms of all ages are invited to come! Melissa

6 FBC Contact Information FBC Finances Attendance 203 South 4th Street, Murray, KY (church office) (fax) Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm KEITH INMAN SENIOR PASTOR kinman@fbcmurray.org BOYD SMITH PASTOR OF PRAYER AND CARE bsmith@fbcmurray.org JEREMY HUDGIN ASSOCIATE PASTOR OF FAMILIES jhudgin@fbcmurray.org JON KYLE ALLRED STUDENT PASTOR jallred@fbcmurray.org MIKE ROSE TRADITIONAL WORSHIP LEADER mrose@fbcmurray.org MELISSA COLLIER PRESCHOOL & CHILDREN S DIRECTOR mcollier@fbcmurray.org Visit us at Van Driver for December: John Rudolph as of Sunday, November 13, 2016 $1,071, YTD Budget Receipts $1,229, YTD Budget Needs $ 44, YTD WMO Receipts $ 138, WMO Goal $ 684, YTD Family Life Center Receipts $2,620, Pledges to Date $3,460, Family Life Center Goal The Sunday 8:30 11:00 Net Hispanic School Oct Nov Nov Radio/T V New Members Items Needed for Brazil Mission Abbey Avis joined Sunday, October 30 by letter. She is a Murray State student. Emmanuel Ojodomo Apeh joined Sunday, November 13 by statement. He is a Murray State Student from Nigeria. Our 8:30 am worship service is aired at 11:00 am on WAAJ-FM 89.7 and a taped broadcast is available on Thursday evenings at 8 p.m. on Murray Electric System s channel 15. Items Needed for Brazil 2016 The 2016 Brazil Team is collecting items for its ministries in the Amazon in December. The ministries include: construction, medical, vision, VBS, water treatment, Bible study, evangelism, and women s health. There is a box in the Welcome Center where items can be placed. Thank you for your commitment to Brazil missions. Items needed are: Bandanas, potholders, wooden spoons, small sewing kits, soap (small bars), tooth brushes, tooth paste, small flashlights, beads to make jewelry, Band- Aid s, lip balm or Chapstick, shampoo (small bottles), head bands and hair items, small scissors, pens and pencils, pads for writing, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, vitamins, Tums, eye drops, antibiotic ointment, hard candy, balloons, D-cell LED flashlights, new or like-new caps. Library The book, Churchill s Trial: Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government by Larry P. Arnn, has been given in memory of Marion DeBruler, father of Diane Thiede by the Betty Sledd WMU Group. *Reminder Be sure to drop by the FBC Library to sign up for the Christmas book giveaways. Any one of the ten items would make an awesome present for someone or you can gift yourself! The drawing ends Dec. 11. Thank You Thank you to all who participated in this year s Operation Christmas Child. This year we were able to send 160 shoeboxes to share the love of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas to needy children around the world. Please continue to pray for the children who will receive these gifts. Thank you notes have been received from Tripp and Sharon Furches and Diane Thiede and family.

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8 Our World Mission Offering Goal for 2016 is $138,000. The blue bordered envelopes found on the back of our pews are there specifically for the collection of this offering that will be used to share the gospel and meet critical needs around the world. Please look in our weekly bulletins the rest of the year to find details on the various ministries that our WMO will be funding. Benevolent Offering - Because of your generosity in contributing to the Benevolent Fund, so far this year, FBC has been able to assist approximately 100 people with over $10,000 of benevolent funds. A Benevolent Offering is usually taken on the same day that we observe the Lord s Supper. The next Benevolent Offering will be collected on Sunday, November 27. A contribution to the Benevolent fund can be made at any time by placing a check in the offering plate with a notation of Benevolent Fund marked on your check. Thank you for your continued support of this ministry. Special Holiday Church Office Hours: Wednesday, November 23 - close at noon Thursday, November 24 - closed Friday, November 25 - closed Thursday, December 22 close at noon Friday, December 23 - closed Monday, December 26 - closed Friday, December 30 - closed at noon Monday, January 2 - closed

9 If you build it, they will come! We ve all heard that quote from the movie Field of Dreams. That quote is flawed on many levels when it comes to evangelism and outreach. I don t believe we build a building simply for the sake of building a building. A building is not going to reach people, rather it s what takes place on the inside of that building. It s the relationships that are formed and developed whether that s shooting basketball, eating a meal, or engaging in worship. A building is nothing more than a vehicle. It s a vehicle to help us get to where we want to go. I know it s our heartbeat that the vehicle of the Family Life Center will be one that will drive us to connect to the community and show the incredible love of Christ. Here at FBC, we are taking many steps of faith and are possessing a desire to do what it takes. It s an exciting time to drive around our property and see work being done on our new building. Over the next few months, it will become more and more evident that we are entering a new phase. While I don t believe that if we build it, they will come ; I do believe that our building should and will make a statement to the community. It s my desire that the Family Life Center be exactly that, a place where all walks and all stages of life could come together and experience community. Thanks to everyone who has stepped up and made sacrifices to help make this project a reality. I truly believe that 2017 is going to be a year that we will all look back on and be amazed at what the Lord has done. Please join me in continuing to pray for our church and our community as we strive to engage the world with the love of Christ! Jeremy Now that we have officially begun the construction phase of our new Family for Life Center, the south parking lot is no longer available. Please consider alternative parking areas so that our seniors, guests and others have access to parking spaces that are close to our buildings. There is parking available around the court square and in the lots east of the Steele and Albritten building. We all appreciate your cooperation during this construction phase. Building an authentic, biblical community who engages our city and our world with the love of Jesus.

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