Messenger. The. First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa. First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa

Transcription

1 We are a body of believers united in Christ to proclaim, live, and love according to God s Word. I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Adopt a Platoon 3 Annual Meeting 3 Birthdays and Anniversaries 6 Book Bound 3 Budget & Finance 2 Calendar 7 Choir Robes 4 Church Mouse NS Excel Youth Conference 4 3 Library 6 Missionary Update: Niles Old Testament Online Study Sweetheart Banquet Planning Meeting Youth Groups 3 The First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa Messenger J A N U A R Y V O L U M E 7, I S S U E 1 The Nones and the Dones By Rev. Alan Rudnick Many of us may have New Year s resolutions on our minds of working out more or decreasing our chocolate intake, but there are some serious trends we Christians must address. As we close the book on 2014 and open a new one in 2015, we Christians need to take note of what is going on in the American church. The American church is our church, our neighbor's church, or the church down the street. It does not matter what sect of Christianity it is or whether they worship with an organ or praise band, church attendance and affiliation is in decline. The word nones has denoted the growing trend of Americans who choose not to affiliate with a religion or church, which is growing at a rapid pace. About 20% of Americans and a third of adults under 30, are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentage ever. The term nones is a whole category of people who are atheist, agnostic, or confused in their faith. The term nones identifies the lack of religious belief or ambivalence of religious belief, which has been around ever since religious polling began. However, a new term has emerged into our vernacular: dones. Who are the dones? They will tell you they are very faithful, they are strong Christians and are looking for ways to act out on their faith even more so than they did when they were involved in a congregation 1 said Thom Schultz co-author of Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore. In addition, Schultz added, Often the dones see the red tape associated with church as an obstacle to the Christ-inspired ministry they had hoped to find at church... church is a modern-era institution in a postmodern time... and people are interested in meaningful and significant engagement and service to the world. 2 Generationally, the dones tend to be those Baby Boomers and those born those who grew up with a traditional American church experience, but who see the church s structure and ethos as a stumbling block. Fortunately, at First Baptist Church we are blessed with a diversity of ages and denominational experiences. Our church continues to grow numerically and in spirituality in the age of the nones and dones! Despite this reality, our congregation must adapt to the growing trend of disenfranchised believers, seekers, searchers and unbelievers. Does this information mean we must change our message of Jesus Christ? By no means! A recent Gallup poll revealed that three-quarters of Americans identify as a Christian and about half report attending a religious service in the past month. 3 We Americans believe but we have a difficult time populating our American churches. Continued on next page 1 You ve met the nones. Now, meet the dones. Baptist News Global. November 18, Ibid. 3 Three-quarters of Americans identify as Christian. Gallup poll. December 24, 2014.

2 P A G E 2 Why is this a problem? The church was established by Jesus Christ as the primary vehicle of a community of believers. Jesus said to Peter, You are Rock and on this rock I will build my Church. (Matthew 16: 18) The church was to be the center of accountability and community. Jesus instructed accountability for wrong doing in Matthew 18 to be entrusted to the local church. In the book of Acts, it is the church that grows in leaps and bounds in the cities in the Middle East. Christians are not meant to be without a church. What does this mean for us? It means that at First Baptist Church we must take our blessing of an intergenerational church and gifts in such a way where we do not get preoccupied by red tape, populating boards, using ineffective methods, and fearing of risk. The people who are not here yet, and possibly those who are here, do not want to spend resources on structure. People are seeking to spend resources on service, the community, investment in ministry, bible study, and leadership. Among Protestant Christians, Lifeway Research found 61% have not shared their faith to at least one person in the past 6 months. Only 16% shared their faith once in the past 6 months. The rest, 13%, shared their faith experience 2 or more times. 4 Why am I quoting all these statistics and polls? It gives an insight into what is going on in the pew and on the street. What this means for our church is that we need to focus on energies on leadership development, teaching people how to foster meaningful relationships, equipping team modeled ministry, and investment in new ideas/ concepts/ministries. These areas will focus our attention on the areas of growth in order to sustain our church and reach out to the nones and dones. This year marks my 7th year of service to our congregation. We have had 6 great years together and I look forward to more ahead needs to be a year that we continue to move forward and listen to God s unfolding vision for our congregation! Let s make 2015 another great year, together. In Christ, Rev. Alan Rudnick BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE Happy New Year to all our church family. Your Budget & Finance Committee has been working hard to approve a proposed budget that represents good stewardship and also the wishes of the congregation (the ones who make it all possible). We are now on our 4 th draft, I believe, and some minor changes will still be made before our January Congregational meeting. Through November, our pledged giving is still behind by $14,860 and our projected non-pledges are ahead by $9,500. Total income through November was $244,296 and total expenses were $244,707 Our proposed budget, to date, looks like this: Projected income $300,384 At present, our pledges are at $242,784 Projected expenses $299,705 Expenses by Boards/Committees: Christian Education $11,500 Deacons 12,150 Missions 44,576 Trustees 79,851 Staff 151,628 $ 299,705 As you will notice, our Trustees budget is down from last year. That is because we are proposing to use $25,000 from the interest and dividends from our Endowment Fund to pay for the Trustees Special Projects that are necessary in the coming year. I, for one, am so pleased with the restorations made by the Trustees this year (especially eliminating the leaks in the roof that were ruining our ceilings). For our January meeting, we will be having a paper ballot, that many of you have requested, instead of a vocal vote. Hopefully, between budget information presented in time for perusal before the meeting, and a paper ballot, our congregation will feel more comfortable with their vote. Don t be afraid to ask questions. It is your church and your funds. We are a body of believers, united in Christ, all on the same page, hopefully. Serving Him together, Mary Ann Becker, Chair 4 Spiritual openness of the younger church. Christianity Today. December state-of-culture-and-opportunity-for-evangelism.html

3 P A G E 3 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF BALLSTON SPA Sunday, January 25, 2015 (time TBD) Annual Reports are due by January 12, Please submit reports to the church office justina@bspabaptist.org or place a hard copy on the office desk. BookBound! THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF BALLSTON SPA BOOK CLUB BookBound! meets on the second Monday of the month from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the Upper Room. Read the book for the month and come for a good discussion, with snack and beverage provided. Childcare is available. Let us know if your child will be attending so we may provide care accordingly. Please contact Christine Rudnick, chrudnick@gmail.com or Laura Wright tigerlily913@yahoo.com. January 12 I Capture the Castle Dodie Smith February 9 All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr SWEETHEART BANQUET MEETING On Sunday January 4 there will be a meeting for anyone interested in planning the Sweetheart Banquet set for February 7. The brief informative meeting will be after worship service. Contact Joan Anderson if interested, YOUTH GROUPS All groups meet on the 1 st & 3 rd full week of the month. Check the church calendar for specific dates. Girls Group meets on the 1 st & 3 rd Sundays at 4:30 p.m. here at First Baptist Church. (1/4 & 1/18) High School Bible Study is on 1 st & 3 rd Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 15 W. High St.(1/6 & 1/20) Middle School Youth Group is on 1 st & 3 rd Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church, 22 W. High St. (1/15 & 1/29) ADOPT-A-PLATOON Here is a recent message from our Platoon getting ready to transition home in two months after a one year deployment. A special message from our Platoon SPC Aaron Francis, U.S. Army Charlie 3-4 ADA, 108th BDE Ft. Bragg, NC: We will all be coming home soon, and we have many single soldiers who will not be able to come back to the states to the same comforts that our married soldiers would come home to. We would like to try to gather some items for them in order to make their return as pleasurable as possible. We have 21 single soldiers returning to our barracks, with three of those being female. As you may know, the transition and acclimation back into the normal, everyday life and coming back home often pose many challenges, and myself and SFC Wingo would like to try to help mitigate those as best we can by reaching out to the community to help out our single soldiers. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated, and would help our soldiers greatly. If you are indeed able to assist us, the items listed below would be what we need for our soldiers. Thank you very much for your time and consideration in this matter, and I look forward greatly to hearing back from you! Items needed are: Comforters, twin size sheets, pillow cases, pillows, microwavable canned foods/ goods. We will collect until Jan. 11 and send out packages in time for their transition home. Please feel free to speak with me personally at church or give me a call Vallee Albert, Excel HS Youth Conference January is just around the corner and it ll be time for the Excel High School Youth Conference January This is an annual Youth for Christ retreat in Saratoga Springs. A combination of praise and worship, prayer, drama, comedy and music with strong biblical teaching to bring you to a life-changing encounter with God. Please contact youth minister Stephen Stewart, sstewart1389@yahoo.com if you would like to attend. Registration forms are available on the Youth Bulletin Board next to the stairs. Online registration is also available on the Excel YFC site

4 P A G E 4 CHURCH MOUSE NURSERY SCHOOL December is a wonderful month at The Church Mouse. There is much to do, but everyone has fun checking off their to do list. The children made beautiful ornaments with their picture on the front. (I still have those ornaments from when my children attended The Church Mouse.) They also made a nativity scene to hang on their refrigerators. The children had fun practicing for their pageants. We are thankful that we can share the story of Jesus birth with our students and their parents. Thanks to Joan Anderson for taking care of the refreshments for the pageants. Thank you for the beautiful decorations, for getting volunteers to serve, and for set up and clean up. January brings themes relating to winter. Since the busyness of December has past, the teachers are able to focus on reviewing letters, numbers, sight words, etc. They will be making gingerbread men and having their annual Penguin Day. The teachers will be starting to formally evaluate each student in preparation for conferences in March. Believe it or not, registration starts when we return from Christmas vacation. Families already attending may register January 1 st. Registration is open to the public February 1 st. We will also be preparing for our Open House which will be held on Saturday, February 7 th from 10:00am-12 noon. We look forward to meeting prospective students! We have already had calls from parents desiring to register their child for The Church Mouse. We will be participating in the Saratoga Preschool Fair on January 23rd at The Saratoga Springs Public Library. This is typically very well attended, and is a wonderful marketing tool for our school. It is nice to be able to network with other preschool teachers as well. We were very sad to have to say goodbye to Heidi Driscoll, our Pre-K assistant. Heidi was working part time at Wood Road School, and was offered a full-time position there. She did not want to leave, but knew she had to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. We miss her already. God provided one of our parents to take on the assistant position. We welcome Kristen Theriault, a beautiful Christian young lady. Her son is a student in the Pre-K class. She has an education degree in Early Childhood Education, and a lot of experience. We are blessed to have her on board. We wish you all a wonderful New Year. May God surprise you daily with wonderful opportunities to serve. Serving together, Cheryl Dunkelbarger CHOIR ROBES Through two very generous donations, the choir will be newly attired with robes very soon. However, due to the cost, sufficient funds have not been secured to place the order. We definitely need to have you consider helping out in some fashion if you feel so led by the Lord. The robes are truly beautiful, and with the stoles, these will add a wonderful aesthetic value to the worship services in the future. Please consider how you might be able to help out with a one-time donation so they can be ordered sometime soon this week. I am keeping the books on this, as I did with the organ fund. Your response should come to me, and I will keep the information private. Also, your donation will be given to the church treasurer for your giving record. Thanks for taking time to give this matter your prayerful consideration. In His service, Darryl Drew, Music Director

5 P A G E 5 MISSIONARY UPDATE: WAYNE & KATHERINE NILES The container of white cross arrived! Dec 7, 2014 Dear Friends in First Baptist Church, Ballston Spa, White Cross (for reasons I never learned), is the name of an energetic ministry of American Baptist women and churches. Among other things, they roll bandages and give money to buy hospital supplies for Congo. These friends, sometimes called Holy Rollers, tear old bed sheets into strips and roll them up into bandages. It has been two years since we received the last White Cross container and all our hospitals are crying for bandages. These cries will soon cease. Over thirty five thousand pounds of rolled bandages, gauze, scrubs outfits, sutures, gloves, and other supplies arrived in this container. Dealing with that load was no small task, particularly because the 40 ft. truck couldn t get through the gate of the mission property. We unloaded it by pickup truck, making dozens of 50 yard dashes from parked truck to various storerooms. What does a Band-Aid cost? Ten cents? Now imagine running a hospital serving patients who make less than a dollar a day. The cost of daily dressing changes for a burn, surgery, or deep laceration; paid at USA rates, might exceed a year s income for most patients. Rolled bandages save lives! To all the Holy Rollers out there, and those who give to purchase these hospital supplies, we pass on to you the chorus of Thank You expressed by medical staff at eleven Baptist hospitals in Congo. If you have missed the blessing of being part of White Cross, join the fun and get involved. To know more contact International Ministries or ask us! It s a wonderful way to become part of God s healing work through hospitals in Congo. Thank you for your prayers and support making our presence here possible. Wayne & Katherine Niles Africa Desk, International Ministries ABC/USA PO Box 851 Valley Forge, PA Add us to your address book Various because Katherine s usual storeroom quickly filled to the ceiling. The overflow we stuffed into back rooms, borrowed storerooms, and offices until I began to fear an invasion of our own living room. Thanks to the HARD work of nine strong men, we tucked it all away by dusk, with a promise to evacuate from borrowed spaces as quickly as possible. Hence, this week (on returning from five days in the bush), Katherine organized a huge truck to deliver the first of the supplies - to the Vanga hospital. The other 10 hospitals will be served in coming weeks. ONLINE OLD TESTAMENT STUDY COURSE CABA is pleased to announce a new online lay study course on the Old Testament. This is being offered to any member of the congregation, particularly individuals in leadership positions and those seeking to be a certified lay minister. The ten-week course starts January 13, 2015 and ends March 17, 2015 every Tuesday 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. It will be online using your PC or MAC and GoToMeeting ( CABA has scholarship funds available for this course. If you have any questions, please contact George Stefani at Stefani.George@gmail.com or (518)

6 P A G E 6 LIBRARY CORNER Children s Books: 1. What s Up with Lyle? by Karen Poth A Veggie Tales lesson in using your gifts. 2. Who Wants to Be a Pirate? by Karen Poth A Veggie Tales lesson about self esteem. 3. If Jesus Lived Inside My Heart by Jill Roman Lord Children will be introduced to Jesus and the many ways that Jesus lives with us. 4. Biscuit Meets the Class Pet by Alyssa Satin Capucilli Can a curious bunny and a playful puppy be friends? 5. Biscuit s Big Friend by Alyssa Satin Capucilli A story of friendship. 6. Mind Your Manners, Biscuit! by Alyssa Satin Capucilli A stroll around the neighborhood is a perfect chance to show good manners. 7. Junie B., First Grader Cheater Pants by Barbara Park Junie B. Jones has all the answers when it comes to cheating. It s just plain wrong! But maybe this cheating business is more complicated than she thought. Could she be one and not even know it? Children s DVD: 1. Princess and the Pop Star from Veggie Tales A lesson on being yourself. 2. Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men from Veggie Tales There s no hurt too big for God! Adult Books: 1. Deadline by Randy Alcorn When tragedy strikes those closest to him, journalist Jake Woods must draw upon all his resources to uncover the truth about their suspicious accident. 2. Emerald Windows by Terri Blackstock Stained glass artist Brooke perseveres on her window project of God s covenants in the Bible despite vicious rumors and gossip. 3. Double Helix by Sigmund Brouwer Slater Ellis is in a race against time, a hit man and a professor who plays god in his spare time. If he loses, so does the human race. 4. Grace by Richard Paul Evans a novel by the author of The Christmas Box and The Gift. 5. Open the Sky by Mark Winheld The story of missionary pilot Dwayne King. 6. Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick What happens when you dare to ask God for the impossible. Adult DVDs: 1. Where There s a Will a Feature Films for Families Determined to use his petulant grandmother s money for his own ends, Richie discovers the power of family and the meaning of true friendship. 2. Back When We Were Grownups Rebecca Davitch has always rolled with the punches. But suddenly, the genial 53-year-old widowed grandmother, family cheerleader, caretaker, party planner and proprietress of the family business is having an uncharacteristic mid-life crisis. After all these years, Rebecca can t help but feel, as she so aptly puts it, that she somehow turned into the wrong person. January Birthdays 4 th Michael Hensler 9 th Keith Sprenger 16 th Will Hinckley III 17 th Darlene Walker 19 th Joan Anderson 19 th Norma Dunkelbarger 20 th Savanna Hardt 21 st Mark Rabideau 24 th Margaret Morahan 26 th Laura Conklin 28 th Dan Conklin January Anniversaries Enjoy! Mary Morelock 28 th Pat Rogers 29 th Florence Hinckley 29 th Megan Watkins 31 st Karonne Jarrett 1 st Mark and Susan Hopper 5 th Henry and Terry van den Heever 15 th David and Sherry Stacey 25 th Kevin and Debbie Porter If we missed your birthday or anniversary, please let the church office know!

7 4 Communion Sunday 11 9:00 a.m. Sunday School 18 9:00 a.m. Sunday School 25 9:00 a.m. Sunday School 19 Martin Luther 8 10:00 a.m. Men s 15 10:00 a.m. Men s 22 10:00 a.m. Men s January 2015 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 9:00 a.m. Sunday School 10:30 a.m. Worship Service 11:30 a.m. Sweetheart Banquet Meeting 5:00 p.m. Girls Baptist Church 10:30 a.m. Worship Service 2:15 p.m. Maplewood Manor Worship Service 10:30 a.m. Worship Service 5:00 p.m. Girls Baptist Church Excel Youth Conference 10:30 a.m. Worship Service First Baptist Church Annual Meeting (time TBD) :00 p.m. Book Bound Annual Reports Due King Jr. Day Office Closed 10:00 a.m. Food Pantry 6:00 p.m. HS Bible Episcopal Church 13 10:00 a.m. Food Pantry 7:00 p.m. Board Meetings :00 a.m. Food Pantry 6:00 p.m. HS Bible Episcopal Church 10:00 a.m. Food Pantry 7 6:00 p.m. Cherubs Choir 7:00 p.m. Choir 14 6:00 p.m. Cherubs Choir 7:00 p.m. Choir 21 6:00 p.m. Cherubs Choir 7:00 p.m. Choir 28 6:00 p.m. Cherubs Choir 7:00 p.m. Choir Fellowship/Coffee (at Fortunate Cup) 5:00 p.m. Food Pantry 5:30 p.m. Middle School Youth Presbyterian Church Fellowship/Coffee 5:00 p.m. Food Pantry 7:00 p.m. SLP meeting Fellowship/Coffee 5:00 p.m. Food Pantry 5:30 p.m. Middle School Youth Presbyterian Church 29 10:00 a.m. Men s Fellowship/Coffee 5:00 p.m. Food Pantry 9 6:00 p.m. Christmas Decorations Take Down Youth Conference January :00 p.m. Suzuki Students Recital

8 The First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa 202 Milton Avenue Ballston Spa, NY (518) Church Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, & Friday 8:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. Church Staff REV. ALAN RUDNICK, PASTOR DARRYL DREW, DIRECTOR OF MUSIC RITA DREW, CHOIR DIRECTOR JUSTINA DANISON, OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR CHURCH SEXTON STEPHEN STEWART, YOUTH MINISTER KATE DASHIELL, YOUTH WORKER The First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa 202 Milton Avenue Ballston Spa, NY 12020