Pastor's Letter March 2014

Transcription

1 Pastor's Letter March 2014 As the cold temperatures continue into this month, we are grateful for a break in the weather here and there. On the last Sunday of February, the weather was just good enough to get us back over the 900 mark in morning worship. Dr. Junior Hill was a wonderful guest speaker, and our people really enjoyed his ministry. There were three saved that morning, two baptized, and two more coming for baptism. It was a wonderful day in the midst of our worst winter since the church began in I am praying for even greater days when Spring breaks through, and we can regain our ministry momentum once again. In March we will be emphasizing two very important ministries at BBC. The first is our Spring Sunday School challenge, beginning on March 30 th. The importance of strong Bible education cannot be over-emphasized, especially in today s culture. Christians today are lacking in Bible knowledge, as well as the every day application of Scripture in their lives. Our Sunday School classes for adults and children are a great place to increase your knowledge of the Bible, and to show yourself a student of God s Word. These classes are a resource that will encourage your walk with Christ, and will strengthen your family. While that is a primary reason to attend Sunday School, there are several other benefits as well. Soon, all of the adult classes will have established Care Group Leaders. These men and women will assist the class teacher in personal contact with every class member. Through these classes and care groups, it is our desire to minister to every family of BBC, and to provide fellowship opportunities for our members. A great deal of ministering to our congregation is done through the Sunday School classes. If you are not enrolled in a class, you may be missing out on some great friendships, activities, and our opportunity to minister to your family in times of need. We have always had a sizeable gap between our Sunday School and worship attendance. I hope that you will help us narrow that gap by getting involved in one of our classes. It could be your new song to the Lord this year! Also on March 30 th, we begin our 50 Days of Prayer calendar. These 50 days lead us to our Friend & Family Day on May 18 th. We will be asking our families to spend time in prayer for several specific requests every day for those 50 days. Special prayer times, days of fasting, and other opportunities will be announced during those weeks. The Lord has answered these times in the past with a great out-pouring of His Spirit on our congregation. Wonderful testimonies have been shared about the power of prayer, and the growth of God s people through the work of prayer. I am looking forward to this year s report about how God uses this special emphasis in the lives of our people. It s going to be an exciting month, leading us to our Easter services in April, and Friend & Family Day in May. In closing, I want to once again thank you for your good and faithful stewardship. Even in the midst of our worst winter, with snow several Sundays, bitter cold temperatures, and our attendance taking a big hit, the people of BBC have been blessed. Your obedience to the Lord has allowed us to have the highest weekly offerings ever recorded in the month of January, AND in the month of February. Keep up the good work and pray for SPRING!! See you in church! Pastor Kelly D. McInerney

2 Sunday School Contest We are so excited to see spring around the corner and the days getting longer. With Spring Training and Opening Day coming up, we are excited to be starting the Take Me Out to Sunday School contest. It will begin on March 30th with the Opening Day Parade. The children s department will be putting this on with floats, banners, and lots more. The parade will wind its way through the auditorium, where all the adult classes will be meeting that day. The children will also be hearing a testimony in the gym with Aaron Faucett, a former member of BBC and the Athletic Trainer for the Dayton Dragons. The following Sunday, April 6th all classes in the National League will be having breakfast, then on April 13th the classes in the American League will be having breakfast. We will close out the contest on Easter Sunday with Grand Slam Sunday, when there will be a continental breakfast for all Sunday School classes. We have some great giveaways for those who attend and those who bring visitors. We are praying that you and your family make every effort to be here during the contest. 50 Days of Prayer - Assistant Pastor Mike Ogg Pastor Kelly D. McInerney As we prepare for our 50 Days of Prayer emphasis, beginning March 30 th, I wanted to share some things with you about a healthy prayer life. While we will be encouraging our people to pray fervently during those seven weeks, there are some things the Bible says can be a hindrance to our prayers. As you study this list and the scriptures, ask the Lord to examine your heart and life to correct anything that may be keeping you from having a victorious prayer life. Prayer is our direct communication with God, and we should desire that nothing in our lives would keep that door from being wide open. Hindrances to Prayer 1. Indifference toward the Word of God Proverbs 28:9 / Psalm 37:4 2. Conflict with our spouse I Peter 3:7 3. Unconfessed sin Psalm 66:18 / I John 1:8 4. Wrongs unrighted Matthew 5: Dishonest stewardship Malachi 3: Selfish motives Matthew 6:5 / James 4:3 7. Refusing to submit to Biblical teaching Proverbs 1:24-30 Great Commission Nights There will be a dinner at 6:00 PM, followed by visitation and Bible projects at 6:30 PM. Page 2

3 BBC Calendar 1 - Men s Prayer Breakfast 8 am - Deacon & Trustee Meeting 9:30 am - Drama & Orchestra Rehearsal 10 am 2 - Sabina Nursing Home Ministry 2 pm - Teen SNAC 7:30 pm 3 - Great Commission 6 pm - Sunday School Teachers Meeting (Room 306) 6:30 pm Daylight Saving Time Begins - Set Clocks Forward 1 Hour 9 - Prairie View Ministry 2:30 pm 10 - AWANA Sparks Practice 6 pm 11 - AWANA T&T Practice 6 pm Ladies Meeting 6:30 pm Drama & Choir Rehearsal 10 am - AWANA Games at Cedarville University (Leave at 11 am) 16 - Mark Trammell Quartet 10 am & 6 pm - Wilmington Nursing Home Ministry 2 pm 17 - Great Commission 6 pm - AWANA Workers Meeting (Room 306) 6:30 pm Senior Saints Luncheon 11:30 am Homebuilders Activity 12:45 pm Days of Prayer Begins - Sunday School Emphasis Begins Drama & Orchestra Rehearsal 10 am - Teen Bowling Activity 10:30 am Page 3

4 Birthdays: 03/01 Cole Fallis 03/02 Courtney McLaren Waldo Richardson Grant Wells 03/03 Morgan Bryant Sydney Doughman Kyla Hesler Andrew Wood 03/04 Dade Coyle Kinley Lykins 03/05 Kimberly Isaacs Carolyn Lewis Michael Mider 03/06 Deborah Beard Jennifer Wells 03/07 Ben Coyne Kyle Holzhauer Nelson Jackson Jordan Macik 03/08 Elizabeth Brown George Cordy Rob Evans Avery Kratzer Garret Wood 03/09 Mark Johnson 03/10 Tammy Brister James Brown 03/11 Gabrielle Gates Dick Jarrell Quinn McCoy 03/12 Ruby Day Gracie Day Arianna Fry 03/13 Ilea Bradley Gail Burton Matt Haines Seth Schaeffing 03/14 Sid Bagford Scott Milner Brady Russell Zaviar Thompson Caleb Wood 03/15 Nick Babb Lois Davis Kayla Ogg 03/16 Marti Osborne Garrett Trampler 03/17 Rod Amburgy Nathan Drais J.D. Williams 03/18 Ron Cravens 03/19 Don Jackson 03/20 John Chmidling Theresa Chmidling Aldon Haines Jodi Vogel 03/21 Joyce Berry Vera Richardson 03/22 Amanda Mandelstein Linda Mider Autumn Price Sasha Wilson 03/23 Dwight Keever 03/25 Judith Sternsher Jane Whitaker 03/26 Bradley Eastes Sandy Hazelbaker Scotty Turner Jared Wood 03/27 Kyle Clifton Steve Fetters Savaya Thompson 03/28 Thomas Walker 03/29 Michele Adams Ken Cummins Josh Moore Susan Pettijohn 03/30 Janet Dixon Teegan Doughman Kaleb Goodin Tammy May Brantley Milburn Mindy Snider 03/31 Donnie Burton Patricia Keever Anna Keiter Anniversaries: 03/01 Jim & Linda Birkenheuer 03/04 Pete & Carol Fentress 03/06 Ken & Darlene Ingram 03/11 Tom & Jodi Vogel 03/14 Sam & Andrea Flores 03/15 Brad & Tammy Brister Charlie & Billie Updyke 03/18 Tim & Donna Fallis 03/19 Jack & Becky Mann 03/22 Harley & Roberta Douglas Mark & Norma Johnson 03/23 Lloyd & Patty Carmack Bill & Betty Holzhauer 03/24 John & Jeanie Crosby 03/25 Roger & Edith Grimsley 03/30 Jason & Danielle Kreusch 03/31 Jack & Rhonda Goins Bill & Cindy Walton Mike Trammell Quartet They will be singing in the morning worship service at 10 AM with a full concert at 6 PM. Friend & Family Day SPECIAL MUSIC BY: THE HOPPERS *Birthday/Anniversary information is taken from our family profile sheets. If you have never filled out a profile sheet, or need to make changes concerning the information on file, please contact the church office. Page 4

5 Building I Remodel Daylight Savings Time New bathroom stalls, countertops, lighting, and paint have been added to the restrooms in our gym building. Also some areas have received new carpet and tile. Don t forget to set your clock forward ONE HOUR on Saturday Evening, March 8th! World Cup Bible Project We have been working with Bearing Precious Seed for a number of years. In the early stages a representative would come out with all of the equipment and lead us in a one day project. Bringing with him all of the Scripture portions, covers, staplers, and the cutter. At the end of the evening we would pack everything up and hopefully have five or six boxes of finished Scripture portions ready for the field. It quickly grew when we purchased our own staplers and three sided cutter. Like our current project, we have worked on different languages for Bearing Precious Seed missionaries as well as for our own Josh Dixon missionaries. We have also produced John and Romans portions for almost all of our Church plants, personalizing them with contact information for canvassing and follow-up when someone accepts Christ. Our current project is on its way to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It contains the book of Romans as well as a Gospel presentation in thirteen different languages. It speaks of True Victory, and that Christ s victory is ours for the claiming. The prize is eternal life with Him in heaven. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12). It is exciting to think about the thousands that will receive what they think is just an ordinary tournament bracket but is actually something that will change their eternity! Every portion that has been folded, assembled, stapled, and cut represents what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6, I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. Thank you for your service on this project and I ask you to pray along with me that God provides the increase at the 2014 World Cup! Page 5

6 Non-Profit Organization US Postage PAID Wilmington, OH Attention: Postmaster Time Sensitive Please deliver by March 1st, Megan Drive Wilmington, OH A DRAMATIC MUSICAL FOR EASTER Presented by the BBC Adult Choir, Orchestra, and Drama Team