August. newsletter PARK FOREST BAPTIST CHURCH

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1 August newsletter PARK FOREST BAPTIST CHURCH Missionary of the Month Bill & Lisa Clark The Navigators & Global Scholars We ve been serving fulltime with The Navigators since 1981 with a focus on university students. We ve served at Syracuse University, Ithaca College, and Penn State University. In 1992, we moved with our two children (Jesse & Todd) to Sofia, Bulgaria, where we ministered for about eight years. We returned to State College in 2000; it was our home and base of operation until During our time in the US, Bill was a graduate student at Penn State and together we were involved in international student ministry. After Bill completed his Ph.D. we moved to Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, to minister to the academic community at The American University in Bulgaria. Our ministry approach has always been relational and holistic with an emphasis on investing deeply in the lives of a handful of young people at any one time. Our desire is to advance the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling among the lost. In practical terms, this means coming along side young people and serving as mentors as we travel through life together. Church Events July 30 - August 3 Vacation Bible School August 1 One Prayer August 4 Men s Breakfast August 8 Whipple Dam - Picnic & Swimming August 9-10 Garage Giveaway for International Students August RIOT All-Nighter August 15 Club Interest Meeting August 19 Picnic & Baptism August 21 Day at DelGrosso s August 26 RIOT End of Summer Party

2 Thoughts from Pastor Jeremy Recently I had a discussion with a friend who was commenting that he sees that the world is only getting worse and worse. He reflected that there is not as much love in the world as when he was a kid. He was saddened by the condition of man today. I agreed with him. Even the Bible speaks about how in these last days things will get worse as people s hearts grow even colder towards God. The good news is that doesn t have to be that way. Good News All people can be made new by Jesus through being born again and believing the gospel. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! When a person turns from their sin, places their faith and trusts in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins before God, and asks Jesus to come into their life and be their Lord and Savior, God gives them eternal life, which the Bible says is a new birth. God gives the Holy Spirit and makes us spiritually alive, whereas before we were spiritually dead in our sins and not truly capable of being the people that God intended us to be. Through salvation, God then restores man s broken relationship with him because God s presence now lives in man. Then as we walk with God, people live a new life, one that is led by the Holy Spirit and is filled with the fruit of righteousness. True Change I share all this to remind us of that true change that Jesus can bring to our lives and what spiritual growth really is. When you placed your faith in Christ to receive him as your Lord and Savior, Christ now lives in you. And now God wants all of us to grow in our relationship with him. But what does that growth look like? What does a person s life look like who is growing spiritually and is becoming spiritually mature? In Bill Hull s book, The Disciple Making Pastor, I believe he rightly points to what Jesus taught in John Marks of a Disciple of Christ Here are six marks of a disciple of Christ who is growing spiritually and becoming mature in Christ. Jesus taught that these 6 things would mark our lives if we abide in him because He is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:1-17). 1. We remain in Christ through the Word and prayer. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you (John 15:7). The word remain means, to abide or maintain contact for a sustained time. Jesus said, if you remain: this means that we must make the choice daily, Will I follow Christ today?, Will His Spirit guide me?, Will his teaching instruct me?. We also are growing when we are committed to remaining in Christ through prayer. 2. We are obedient. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love, just as I obeyed my Father s commands and remain in his love. (John 15:9). We are growing when we begin to obey God and follow him because we love him. Regardless of how we feel or what kind of day we are having, we obey Him. 3. We are bearing fruit. This is to my Father s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8). When you are growing in Christ, God will fill you with the fruit of the spirit outlined in Galatians 5:22-23, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Are you seeing that fruit in your life? 4. We glorify God. This is to my Father s glory. (John 15:8). When your life is bearing fruit, it shows off to the world that people are made new in Christ and He is transforming people by his grace. This brings glory to God. (continued on next page)

3 5. We have joy. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:11). Only God can give a person real joy. Happiness comes and goes based on the circumstances of life, but joy is a supernatural sense of well-being that comes from knowing that our identity is in Christ, we are eternally loved by him and He is with us at all times. A growing Christian has joy. 6. We love as Christ loves. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. This is my command: Love each other (John 15:12-14,17). It s impossible to spend time with Jesus and not become like him. No one loves greater than God, and when we are growing spiritually, he will be transforming us to become more and more like him. This will be reflected in our love for other people. It will reign over all other harmful attitudes that we often naturally want to have towards others. Instead, we will truly be filled with God s love for people. Growing Deep At PFBC, you will hear us talk about God s plan for discipleship for people in this way: Come hear, Grow Deep, Serve With, and Go Out. Today, you are reading about Growing Deep. The two primary ways that God wants to grow you and make you more like him is (1) when you commit to growing through personal times of prayer and being in His Word and (2) when you grow in community with other believers. Jesus wants you to mature in Him and he wants you to be connected to the body in community. These are the two primary ways that we grow our roots deeper in our relationship with Christ. The wonderful result is that by the Holy Spirit, he transforms us into the people Jesus described in John 15. Set aside time each day to just be with Jesus in His Word and in prayer. Commit to faithful regular attendance to worship on Sundays. And lastly, commit to being a part of a small group community, either on Sunday mornings or in a Small Group. God s design for spiritual growth was never meant to happen in a vacuum. This is why we see all the one another verses in Scripture. You are a part of the body, and each part needs the other. God s amazing work in your life is only ever a moment away when you decide to remain in him. Renew and commit your heart to Him today and continue to discover the treasures of Him by growing deep. Jesus is the well of living water for your soul. Pastor Jeremy Small Groups One of our driving passions at PFBC is to see believers grow deeper in their relationships both with Jesus and with one another, and there is hardly a better place for this to happen than in a Small Group. With this in mind we are going to be featuring a different Small Group in each service leading up to a church-wide event called Take Root happening this Fall. We will be explaining more details around it in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned during the announcements for more information. Nate McElroy

4 Women s Ministry As we are enjoying the warm summer days, the new school year and Fall will be upon us soon. In light of that, your Women's Ministry team at PFBC is planning the calendar with fellowship, prayer, discipleship, service and other opportunities to be involved in and connect with other women while building friendships and loving Jesus. Men s Ministry Next Men s Breakfast Saturday, August 4, 2018, 8 AM Last Month s Video There were many positive comments on the video session that we viewed at the July Men s Breakfast. If you were unable to make it and would like to view the video, it is available on Right Now Media (rightnowmedia.org). Go While praying through the next year, we would like to hear from you, with these 2 questions: What do you desire to have in our ministry this year? How can we meet your needs? to the Conference section and search for Crawford Loritts from the No Regrets Conference. Thank You Thanks to all of you who came out and helped tear down Betty Blood s fence. If you have questions please contact me at ddevlin99@comcast.net. Dennis Devlin You can send your ideas to Hilary Field at hil2field@gmail.com.the team will be meeting soon to talk through the feedback. If you would like to talk more about something that is on your heart and/or be a part of Women s Ministry the team, you can talk to Priscilla Cetnar, Ellen Askey, or Hilary Field. Thank you for taking time to give your input to continue to strengthen and grow Women's Ministry at PFBC! Fall Kickoff Breakfast September 8 th, 9:30 AM Beginning a 4 month video series "Living Life Together" A little preview of video series "There are messy parts in all of our lives that we would rather not reveal... But what if we invited others in and experienced the beautiful acceptance and deep connection of Christian community? Author and speaker Shauna Niequist walks through Scripture, challenging women to step out of isolation and fear and pursue relationships rooted in rest, grace and reconciliation...let's discover together why God designed and delights in relationships." Stay tuned for the other dates for gathering together. PSU Football Game This fall, the Women's Ministry plans on working a designated PSU home football game. The proceeds will go towards the Ladies Retreat. But also remember, they are always looking for people to work the games so there's always that opportunity to benefit the church s ministries. Guides Also, just a reminder, that we are always looking for more women to guide our Women's Ministry. Service Project: Fence Removal at Betsy Blood s House

5 Children s Ministry Vacation Bible School Vacation Bible School is here! We are very excited, we currently have over 110 children attending and we expect to get more. Praise God! Please pray that God will speak to these children and their families through our teaching this coming week. The Club Wednesday, August 8th - picnic lunch and swimming at Whipple Dam, from The Club for Boys and The Club for Girls will begin a new season in September and we are working to redesign The Club. 11 AM - 3 PM. (Bring your own lunch.) We have been working on new curriculum to give the Club a fresh new look, to be more purposeful about teaching the Gospel message through everything we do, and to make it easier for the coaches and guides to prepare. We had new logos created and new T-shirts are ordered as well. We are praying that this will give Club a boost and that we will have renewed interest from the community. If you are currently serving in The Club or you would like to know more about serving in The Club this year, please come to the Club Interest Meeting on Wednesday, August 15th from 6:30-7:30 PM. Tuesday, August 21st - Day at DelGrosso's Amusement Park in Tipton, PA. All day rides and waterpark pass is $22.95 per person ($21.95 if we have 20+ people). Carpooling from PFBC at 10:15 AM or meet at DelGrosso s Ticket Booth at 11:30 AM. Coming in October 23rd!

6 RIOT Report God is truly at work in this ministry. I count it a blessing to get to witness the heart change that is taking place in our teens. We have enjoyed two months of our summer activities, and one week at camp. The group has come together in a way that I have not seen before. They love each other, are praying for each other, and are seeking to grow closer friendships. Lake Ann Camp As many of you heard, we took 13 teens to Lake Ann Camp, and 10 of them had never been there before. God did some incredible things in their lives. Please take some time to ask one of them what God is doing, what they learned, and what goals they have for home. Youth Leaders With the direction that we are headed as a ministry, we are still in need of a few additional adult leaders. We would love to have 1-2 more males, and 2-3 more females. No preparation is needed for each week, other than showing up with an open heart to God and His Children. A typical week consists of a 20-minute meeting on Sunday to discuss and pray for Youth Group, then worship, a lesson, small group time, a group game, and snacks. In addition to Sunday nights, we have 1-2 monthly activities that typically occur on a Saturday. Please prayerfully consider joining this fantastic team. Upcoming Events August 5: Youth Group Event Change!!! We are going to head over to Spring Creek Park for games, and fun in the water. August 10-11: All-Nighter We will be planning some activities away from the church, and will have details out soon. August 12: Youth Group at the Putnam's Pool. August 19: Baptism and Picnic Event Change!!! The Church is holding it's annual Baptism and Picnic at Bald Eagle State Park. We will be joining them for the day. August 26: End of the Summer Party. Leader reflections Check out what Josh has to say (see next page) Please Pray We will begin to look at our Fall calendar, and we need God's guidance for it. For the upcoming 6 th graders, that they can feel welcome and accepted. For our Juniors and Seniors that have been shifting their focus to leadership. For us as we continue to seek new ways to help guide our teens to draw nearer to God. For the people that God will lead to the ministry to join us as leaders. For the teens that they can continue to seek God and the ways that He would use them for His kingdom. For the teens to want to seek out their lost friends. For me (Jon) as I continue to juggle the demands of my time. That I can continue to find the right balance between work, school, family, and ministry time. Praises Summer has been going great so far. God changed 16 lives at Lake Ann Camp. Teens are comfortable enough to invite their friends. We are seeing an increase in maturity and in numbers. We have teens seeking out friends that they can bring with them. Our vision for the future is strong, and growing.

7 RIOT Leader reflections Check out what Josh has to say: This youth group is ready to grow. This thought ran through my head as I watched a room full of teenagers singing during our time of worship a few weeks ago. Not only singing, but engaging with one another in worship; grabbing the hands of the nearest person and breaking out into dance. It was plain to see that these teens felt free to worship without reservation. This time of worship was a genuine display of the love they had for God and their brothers and sisters in Christ, and watching these teens was a great testament to the direction the ministry is heading. The group that was small when I first joined the youth group as a leader has experienced significant, organic growth over the past few months. In addition to new teens coming on Sunday nights, the relationships between them are growing deeper and stronger. As teens invite their friends, the newcomers are immersed in the loving, accepting environment that has grown in our youth group. As it says in John 13:35, By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Church, you should be encouraged that this is certainly true of your youth group. Over the next month, I ask that you continue to pray for our students and our ministry team. Also, if your teen has been hesitant about coming to youth group, there s no better time to come see what it s all about. With all of the friends our teens are bringing, there are always a few guests on Sunday nights! August 19