MAY 2017 Bella Vista Baptist Church

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1 MAY 2017 Phone: (479) Prayer Ministry: (479) Something to Think & Pray About by Pastor Mike McCauley May 4th is National Day of Prayer at 6pm. Come and join us and pray for our nation. As a child growing up I was taught you never have a second chance to make a first impression. This meant I was to have good manners, to greet people properly, and to be in control of my attitude because one never knows when others might be watching. We have all gotten to know people who turned out to be nice people, but who made a poor initial impression. Recently a friend shared how their spouse jokingly said something that was overheard by someone else. For years that other person felt ill-at-ease with the spouse and even went to great lengths to make sure they were never in the same place. The bad first impression became a hindrance in several areas of life for these people. Just like people, churches need to be careful what kind of first impression they make. This is a friendly church. I have no doubt about this. Countless questionnaires we get back from visitors and comments we hear regularly in the halls and the office bear witness to this. I experience the grace and care shared by this church family on an almost daily basis. That said, we still have moments in which we unintentionally make a poor first impression. One such occasion happened just a few weeks ago. That Sunday morning I greeted a person as they walked into the service. It was a busy Sunday and I was all over the room greeting people before the service started. After about ten minutes, I was back to where this particular person was sitting. I sat down for a moment. Your church is not a friendly church. were the words that greeted me. No pastor wants to hear those words. It is even worse to hear them knowing that it is not a true reflection of the heart of the church. The very worst part is knowing that this person legitimately felt the church was unfriendly. What impression are we giving people? How can we help make this better? I am convinced that no one, absolutely no one in this church would ever want a person to feel that this church is unfriendly. What we need to know is that having good intentions is a good start, but is seldom enough. We need to be intentional in our actions as well. The most basic way to do this is simply to make up your mind to be deliberately welcoming. Since I came on staff as the youth pastor at the beginning of 2003 I have tried to make it a habit to greet as many people as time permits before each service. I m not suggesting you need to do what I do, but do look around you each time you are in church. Greet those in your area. Be especially alert to those who you haven t met yet. A second avenue you might pursue is the CARE Ministry. Each week a different team of people serves as door greeters and then makes a brief, but important visit to each family that attends for the first time. I cannot stress the importance of this ministry enough. There are several areas in need of additional manpower in this ministry. Could it be that you are one of the people we are looking for to help in this vital ministry one week each month? Please intentionally pray about it. Ask God, Is it Your will that I serve You and Your church in this way? If you find that it is indeed His will for you, please contact either the church office or any member of the Nominating Committee. Every week we have the opportunity to make a good first impression for Jesus. Will you help us do so? It s Something To Think About, Pastor Mike

2 Page 2 We will learn about: May 7-The Church Began May 14-Peter and John Preached May 21-The Church Chose Helpers May 28-Barnabas Encouraged Others May Birthdays During May, our AWANA Puggle s will learn: May 3 - Review and Party to celebrate the end of the year! May 10 Wear PJs and enjoy a movie May 17 AWANA Awards Night Pre-school and Homeschool Playdate We had lots of fun at the Bella Vista Police and Fire Station. Join us this month at Blowing Springs Park. Friday, May 12th, 10am-12pm. Bring a lunch. Heyden W... 5/15

3 Phone: (479) Fax: (479) May Events: 5/6 Praise Kids Dress Rehearsal 9am-2pm Page 3 Birthdays Avi A.... 5/26 Alex S... 5/11 5/7 All Children s Choirs Performances 5pm. Praise Kids arrive at 2pm for rehearsal 5/17 AWANA Awards Night 5/24 Kids Summer Program Starts Every Wednesday Night beginning 5/24. 6:00-7:30p.m. in Fellowship Hall Join us each week as we learn what the Bible has to say about Not Giving Up as we look at the story of Nehemiah. VBS 6/26-6/30 6-8:30pm AWANA end of year celebration and Awards Come help us celebrate all the hard work this year. We will serve Hot Dogs, Chips, Drinks. May17, :00-7:30p.m.. Pre-register online at bvbaptist.com/vbs We also need volunteers to take kids to classes each night. See Nancy Merrell if you are interested in helping. What we are learning In Sunday School: The Early Church Psalm 122:1 Children s Worship: Books of the Bible

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5 Phone: (479) Fax: (479) Music News I would like to thank everyone that was involved in the Maundy Thursday service last week. I have never been more proud of a choir than I was on that day. You sang beautifully and really connected with the message of Christ s last moments with His disciples. Special thanks to Pastor Dave and Pastor Mike. Your messages were wonderful. I have really enjoyed putting together services like this with these two men. I really feel blessed when we work together. I feel like God accomplishes much more with us as a group. It is a pleasure to work with you both. This coming month we will continue to work on leading worship every Sunday. If Page 5 by Pastor Robert McGee you would like to join us in choir we rehearse on Wednesday evenings at 6 pm. We would love to have you join us. There is also a need for one hand bell ringer. If this interests you, let me know. The choir will also be working on some special music for Memorial Day. We are always busy, so join us in the Worship ministry God Bless, Robert The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 Young at Heart Senior Adult News by Pastor Robert McGee By the time you read this our group will be back from the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. I hope that during this month I will have some time to share with you about our trip. If you have the time, please check out our events this month listed below. Senior Fun Day- May 11 th from 2pm 4pm. I have changed the time to allow more people to participate. Even if you can only come for a short time, please pop in and say Hi. Senior Movie Night- May 26 th 6:30 pm. We will be watching The Fourth Wise Man. This movie was passed on to me with a very high recommendation. I can t wait to watch it with you. Don t forget to come enjoy some ice cream with us! Have a blessed month! Blessings, Robert Based on Henry van Dyke's classic, The Story of the Other Wise Man, this fictional story set in Biblical times is told in gently comic terms. A Magi named Artaban (Martin Sheen) sees a sign in the heavens that he hopes will lead him and his faithful servant to the Messiah. Artaban takes with him three precious gifts to present to the Messiah. For 33 years Artaban pursues Jesus, only to miss Him at every turn.

6 Page 6 We have been involved in several local women's and children s ministries for the past few years. During our last month s meeting, we were introduced to a ministry that was new to most of us, Souls Harbor. This is a ministry that provides shelter, programs, mentors, etc. to help men recover from addictions and to reclaim a productive life. Our speaker, Charlene Field, shared her personal testimony. Her personal struggles and success well qualify her to work in the garden at this facility for several hours a week, so our gifts of garden tools, etc. were well received. It is their goal to become self-supporting. Join us in prayer and support for this ministry. It is the only one in NW Arkansas ministering to men while the need of such facilities is far more than only one can provide. Remember our food drive, Sunday, May 28. Our contribution to our local food pantries are resources for all of our local ministries. Next Meeting~ Wed., May 3rd 9:00am Brief Business Meeting Followed by carpool to Tommy House Since our regularly scheduled day falls on Mother s Day this month we will not be meeting. Join us on Sunday, June 11th from 2pm-4:30pm, in Fellowship Hall. This is a drop -in event come for all or part of the time. For information, contact Joan Abrams All ages are welcome! THREADS of LOVE We are working on blankets, tote bags to send to the Northwest Arkansas Children s Center, and hats and other items for the Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. Please join us if you would like to help, or have ideas for other projects for our group. Wednesdays May 10th and 24th at 9:30am, Room 142.

7 Phone: (479) Fax: (479) Thank You Church Page 7 The Shepherd s Love Food Pantry wishes to thank your congregation for your very generous donation. We praise God for replenishing our resources through contributions such as yours. We are blessed to be allowed to manage the harvest our awesome God has planted to feed our neighbors in need. Because of you, someone ate today. Thank you, The Shepherd s Food Pantry A big thank-you to my church family for all the prayers, cards, phone calls, prayer grams and visits while I recovered from my total knee replacement! I am doing very well and appreciate all of you! ~Blessings, Jayne Fisher Dear Church Staff, We want to thank you for all the preparation for Mom s (Gwen s) Celebration of Life service Thursday, 4/20. Pastor Mike s words at the cemetery were so comforting. Dave Brown was a blessing to the whole family in helping us plan what Mom wanted. A special thank you to Julie Weese and Donna Swift for their patience in making all the changes and answering all our questions. The programs and music were just what Mom wanted. Thank you to Robert McGee for leading the music-what a beautiful voice! I m not sure who to thank for the delicious meal before the service, but it was greatly appreciated! The leftovers were plenty for today, so we didn t need to cook. What a wonderful church! ~Milt Walker & Family We want to thank all of the brothers and sisters in Christ at for all the prayers, prayergrams, cards and LOVE that have been shown us for the past several years and especially during the past two months. You have showered us with blessings. God's plan is perfect. He brought us to BVBC 12 1/2 years ago and gave each of you to us. We have been blessed abundantly. ~Ron and Sharon Sue Harvey Bella Vista Baptist is responsible for Meals on Wheels in June. If you delivered last year, you will be contacted in May by David or Kara Gosnell to schedule which days you would like to deliver meals. If you have never delivered meals and would like to help with this wonderful ministry, please give Kara or David a call I loved the washcloth. As an orphan I had to share a towel with about 20 kids. So when I got the washcloth I thought it was my own personal towel. ~ Vladimir, Russia

8 50 E Lancashire Blvd. Bella Vista, AR May 2017 Phone: (479) General staff@bvbaptist.com BVBC Pastoral Staff Michael McCauley, Senior Pastor mmccauley@bvbaptist.com Dave Brown, Associate Pastor dbrown@bvbaptist.com Robert McGee, Associate Pastor rmcgee@bvbaptist.com ******************************* Lighthouse of Prayer... (479) Freedom Ministry... (479) General Delivery...staff@bvbaptist.com Renee Estes... restes@bvbaptist.com Laura Rodriguez.....lrodriguez@bvbaptist.com Carolyn Beaver..cbeaver@bvbaptist.com Nancy Merrell..nmerrell@bvbaptist.com Julie Hettel...jhettel@bvbaptist.com AWANA...awana@bvbaptist.com May Birthdays 1 John Prathaftakis, Bev Stetler 2 Rob Caster, Sarah Saxon, John Schultz, Serrena Schultz, Jill Williams 3 Melanie Hurley, Bobbie Thompson 4 Danetta Korte, Kris Melonis 6 Lauren Blankenship 8 Pat Hay 9 Terry Hayes 10 Tim Verble 11 Deanna Cascio, Barbara Fleeman, Kevin Hayes 12 Joyce Howe, Angie Zeoli 13 Joan Abrams, Richard Dees, Steve Sullivan 14 Peggy Tallant 15 Bob Short, Mark Stewert, Hayden Wood 16 Greta Pinkston 17 Tena Stidham 18 Drew Shover, Anna Tallant 19 Jim Erskine 20 Roberta Bever 21 Chet Coltharp, Laney Houghton 24 Steve Roughton 25 Robert Evans 26 Donna Seay, Dan Weese 27 Lois Adams, Sheila Bailey, Michael Lawrence 29 Paul Epperson, Howard Luznicky 30 Greg Meister 31 Dylan Gard NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID BENTONVILLE, AR PERMIT #222 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED May Anniversaries (50+years) Red and Faith Herring... 5/6 Michael and Jayne Fisher... 5/8 If you are celebrating your 50th plus anniversary this month and were not on our list, please contact the office. FOR THOSE SENDING CARDS, BIRTHDAYS FROM June 1 ST 5 TH 1 Jason Salmons 2 Waymon Rivers, Joe Vance 3 Vic Thompson 4 Gloria Peterson, John Deniston

9 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 7 Nursery Worker Mtg. 12:15 CR Praise Kids Rehearsal 2-4pm- GH Children s Choir Perf. 5pm 14 Happy Mother s Day Baby Dedication Deacon s Meeting 4pm May WOM 9:00am FH 8 9 Finance Committee 6:30pm CR School District Election 7am-8pm FH AWANA decorate turtles Praise Kids 5:30-7:30pm- GH (No T&T) 10 Threads of Love 9:30 AWANA PJ night/ Turtle Race Final Evening Meal AWANA Awards No Prayer Mtg. 4 National Day of Prayer corporate 6pm Financial Peace 6:30pm-CR 11 Senior Adult Fun Day! 2 to 4pm -FH Financial Peace 6:30pm-CR 18 Personnel Committee Mtg. 6:15-CR Financial Peace 6:30pm-CR 5 6 Praise Kids Practice 9am-2pm-GH 12 Natural s game 6pm Faith & Family Night Deacon Lead Work Day WOM Food Drive VBS Play Practice 4-5pm GH Deacon Ordination Lord s Supper PM Service 28 VBS Play Practice 4-5pm-GH Threads of Love 9:30 29 Office Closed Prayer Service moves to 6pm Children s Summer Program 6-8:30pm VBS Play Practice 5:30-6:30 GH 25 Financial Peace 6:30pm-CR 26 BHS Last Day of School Movie Night Sr. Adults 6:30pm 27 Regularly Scheduled Events: Sundays: Worship (8:30am, 11am, 5pm); Bible Study(9:45am) Tuesdays: Men s Bible Study (6:30am) Wednesdays: Meal (4:45-5:30pm); Children s Choirs (5:30) Prayer Meeting (5:45pm); AWANA (6:15); Youth (6pm); Choir (6pm) Thursdays: Handbell Rehearsal (6:30pm)