Homecoming and Revival

Transcription

1 Homecoming and Revival In the life of any church, homecoming and revival are important times and our Homecoming and Revival are upon us! Would you mark your calendars for Sunday, July 12 through Wednesday, July 15? Our Homecoming Service will take place during the 11 a.m. worship service followed by a covered-dish lunch in the fellowship hall. Bring a favorite dish or two of your favorite food item, enough for your family plus one or two more. Drinks will be provided by the church. On Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. we will gather back together for the first of our revival meetings. On Monday through Wednesday, the service times will be 7:30 p.m. with special music each night beginning at approx. 7:15 p.m. Each Homecoming, we participate together in a Homecoming Offering. This year, the goal for our Homecoming offering is $25,000. As has been in previous years, the will be used to help pay down on the mortgage for our new building. Our Homecoming & Revival speaker: Dr. Mark Becton, Pastor of Grove Avenue Baptist Church With so many people that take off on vacation not only during the times of our Homecoming and Revival, but throughout the summer as well, it would be a good time to remind us all to remember our church. Would you consider mailing your offerings in before you head out on vacation? And if you are going to be away during our Homecoming and Revival services, would you consider mailing your gift to the church to help us meeting the offering goal? As seen on TV! I am excited to have Dr. Mark Becton, pastor of Grove Avenue Baptist Church, to serve as our revival speaker. You will want to be sure to invite family members and friends to join you for this series of messages. Recently, visiting and praying with Dr. Becton, I was moved by how deep his love is for the person in the pew and that they that we all, together walk obediently with God. I am certain that God will use Dr. Becton and this series of messages to move every single one of us toward a closer walk and relationship with God. I hope you will join us! Blessings! Steve

2 Spiritual Directions Report In June s church council meeting, the council began its discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of the current, experimental organization of the council. The goal is to make the council as productive as possible. The council also began to work through how best to move forward with the results from the two meetings Dr. Ken Kessler had with church leaders. That group gave a number of responses to the question: What top three things would prevent Second Branch from becoming the church God wants it to be? Of the many concerns that were noted, the top three dealt with: 1. Leadership of staff and lay people Many matters were brought up including a clearer understanding of expectations; well-defined understanding of accountability and chain of command; better communications, and a clearer vision and goals for the church. 2. A stronger focus on God that develops from a deeper and genuine attitude that that church is not about us but truly focusing on Jesus and becoming more like Him and discovering His will for Second Branch 3. Unity of Membership The church should focus more on loving and forgiving one another, by showing grace, developing a positive attitude, and learning to adapt to change The work of the Vision and Values Task Force and the Redevelopment Task Force is coming to a close as the Vision and Values Statement is now being discussed with the church council and deacons. It is anticipated the church will vote on it in the summer business meeting. The purpose of this document is to provide direction for programs and planning. In connection with Value # 3 which deals with healthy relationships, it is anticipated that soon a Matthew 18 Team will be formed to facilitate conversations. The first task of the team will be to develop and have the church adopt a covenant. The concept of the covenant was first discussed by Dr. Kessler with the leaders in their May 31 session. If you have any questions or observations, please do not hesitate to contact me: Jim Hamacher at Jim@mdba.org Senior Pastor, Associate/Youth Pastor, Director of Music Ministries, Moderator (Rev. Steve Vaughan), Treasurer (Belinda Isbell), Clerk (Cecile Taylor), Administrative Team Leader (Tom Fallen), Evangelism & Ministries Team Leader (Barbara Allen), Missions Team Leader (Evelyn Webb), Stewardship Team Leader (Steve Wrenn), Worship & Celebration Team Leader (Gail Stath)

3 WOW! June is almost gone and VBS month is HERE! The excitement continues to build! It s almost time for our Journey Off the Map to begin!!! Door hangers with Save the Date information have gone out in our community, and fliers with registration information will be going out very soon. You may go to our church website to follow the link to KidEvent Pro to pre -register your children. This is very helpful to us as we begin to plan for the number of families we will serve. Our VBS will begin with a Commissioning Service at the 11:00 worship service on Sunday, July 19th, followed by a community movie night in our Youth Building at 6:30 p.m. We will show The Lost Adventure, a movie specifically created by Lifeway to lead families into the week s adventures. You are encouraged to bring your own blankets and chairs, and invite several families with whom you come in contact. For the Administrators, this will also double as a registration event. All VBS workers are encouraged to attend so that we may begin building relationships with those we serve. We will provide popcorn and lemonade. As a church family, please come out and help us welcome the community into our church and hearts. A FREE dinner will be served each evening Monday Friday at 5:15. Fellowship around the table was one of the highlights of last year! This allows families to not have to prepare dinner before heading back out to VBS. This will be followed by Worship Rally in the Sanctuary at 6:00 p.m. before we break into classes for ALL ages, birth to 100!! On Wednesday night, YOU are invited to join us and meet the families from our community and break bread with them. The menu will be published by July 5 th. The evenings will end at 8:30. On Sunday, July 26 th, we will have a HUGE Celebration Sunday to honor all that God has accomplished through us during VBS. The week will be briefly reviewed and the children will share in song as part of this special day. After church, we will have a hot dog lunch, the Kona Ice Truck, Rockwood Park s Creepy Crawly Exhibit, a bounce house, and more! The Children s and Youth Ministries will have tables set up to show our families what we have to offer them. This will also be the time for the prize drawings for which the children earned tickets all week. Please make sure to stop by one of our displays at either Welcome Center to see how you can be a part of VBS. We are asking for donations of gift cards to offset food costs, and also items for prizes, as well as to borrow items for the week and Celebration Sunday. Thank you in advance for your help and support! If you have not joined our VBS Shutterfly web page, please Kelly Harris at dkejharris@verizon.net to be added to this informational site and to stay on top of all that s happening. Please contact us to volunteer, ask questions, or to make any suggestions. We are ALL striving to make this the best VBS ever! Joyfully Serving, Ellen, Kelly, and Tricia

4 July Music Notes This month we celebrate Homecoming and have Revival on July Special musicians will be performing and preparing our hearts for Dr. Becton s messages on these nights. Some of the groups worshipping the Lord with their musical ministry are the Hearts and Hands puppet team (Sunday morning) and The King s Daughters (Sunday night). I have heard and seen that there are a number of musically talented and gifted people in the church. If you are one of those individuals or groups please contact me. I would like to get a list together from which I can choose for specials, offertory, or other occasions in the services. Also, if there are individuals interested in singing or playing in a praise team we might be able to start one. I am looking forward to leading you in worship to the One who is worthy to be praised, our Lord Jesus Christ. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for this church. Stephanie Gilmer, Director of Music Ministries Come to W.O.W. Worship Our Way Children s Church Sunday at 11:00 a.m. For more information, contact Pam Rambo at jprambo@verizon.net. Wouldn t you like to see this happen? Well, you can help make it so by contributing to the Bus Fund! Make sure any donations are clearly marked BUS FUND KROGER/SBBC PARTNER IN COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM If you shop at Kroger or know anyone who does, please enroll or ask your friends to enroll to assist Second Branch Baptist Church in this program. SBBC will receive a small percentage of the total sales made by those who register their Kroger Plus cards. We encourage all to register online at Have your Kroger Plus card handy to register and enroll SBBC If you do not yet have a Kroger Plus card, they are available at any Kroger customer service desk Click the link above or type it into your web s address line Once on the site, look in the upper right corner and click Sign In if you have an account or Register if you have not previously created an account Input your address and password Enter your zip code to locate a store at which you may shop and select that store Click Create Account and then add first and last name and your card number The card number is on the back of your Kroger Plus card and may include a number on the left side of the barcode, 10 numbers below the barcode and another number on the right side of the bar code so input all of those such as You may also add an alternate number such as your phone number but please do this after you input the Kroger Plus card number Please Enroll or Edit the Kroger Community Rewards information by inputting the NPO number 90306, clicking on Second Branch Baptist Church and Confirm To verify you are enrolled correctly, you should see SBBC on your information page If you currently use your phone number at the register you can call , select option 4 to obtain your Kroger Plus card number In order for SBBC to receive credit, members must swipe their REGISTERED Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their REGISTERED Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count All at SBBC thank you for participating!!!!

5 Did You Know? Revival time is almost here. As a church, as a child of God and as a Nation, we need it! As I searched the scriptures, I once again find out it's not up to me (surprise). Biblical revival describes a time when God pours out His glorious presence upon the children of God through an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit. Many Years ago, the Rev. Charles Spurgeon referred to the Psalms to describe God s sovereign work in his London ministry. Psalms 80:18b-19 Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. O Lord God of hosts, restore us; Cause Your face to shine upon us; That's the kind of revival we need. Some how we think revival is for the unsaved and it can be, but revival is for us, God's children and our country. In revival, God exhibits His great power. He displays it in believers changed lives. (Read Act 2) Holiness and separation from the world mark the believer s life. Christians increase their faithfulness to God. True repentance and sorrow from long forgotten sins characterize everyday life in revival. The Scriptures actually become the foundation of life and practice. Christians view God as actually sovereign, not an old man helplessly observing His creatures. The Church recognizes Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church. Believers no longer quench, grieve, nor resist the Holy Spirit. Salvation becomes more than a catch phrase or an passing decision. When God sends revival, it comes to His people. No more pressing need has ever existed for God to display His presence and power in revival than today. What can the Church of Jesus Christ and believers do, then, in the face of this staggering necessity? Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Let's all pray for that God will send revival for us, our church, and our land. Answer to last month's question; How many stones did David take with him when he fought Goliath? 5 smooth stones 1 Sam: 17:40 This month's question; In the book of Revelations, Who rides the ashen horse? Invite someone to revival, and I'll see you there. MJ W.M.U. In June WMU focused on supporting the Local Missions offering for The Middle District Baptist Association. Homeless hygiene care bags will be sent with the Meal from our church on June 29th. Our July meeting has been canceled enabling us all to attend revival. WMU will be taking up items for Samaritan Purse in August and September. You can start getting items for the boxes when you see the school supplies hit the isles at the stores. Be in prayer for all the mission trips this summer. Pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will protect them from the evil one. That they will be clothed as they go on their journey with the armor of God. That the Holy Spirit will fill them with courage and boldness as they share the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Join us at our next meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, August 10th. For more information please contact Rita Boykin - rita-boykin@me.com; or Brenda Kyle -brendagkyle@msn.com; Continue living in his presence. Hebrew 13:16 - Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Dear SBBC Church family, Our family wanted to express our heartfelt thanks for the love and support you have given to our recent high school graduate, Megan. We first visited SBBC in 2005 when Megan was about 8 years old. This church has played an important role in her upbringing. We are grateful for the Sunday School teachers, GA leaders, and TEAMKID leaders for providing such a loving environment through the pre-teen years. She has played church volleyball for the past six years and it is there that she learned to love the game and will continue to play in college (also where Pastor Steve nicknamed her Magoon). Megan specifically stated in her testimony on Senior Sunday that she would not trade her years in the youth ministry for anything. We are so appreciative for the love, guidance, encouragement and accountability that Brian has provided to Megan as she learns who she is in Christ. We have watched how powerful each mission trip has been for her and her spiritual growth on each return. Our youth program has provided a strong Biblical base as she heads out into the real world. SBBC - thank you for loving Megan and standing with us on God's word during her childhood, we ask for your continued prayers as she heads off to college in the fall. Love in Christ, Ron & Vicki Stitzer

6 SBBC July Happenings Regular SUNDAY Activities Men s Breakfast (1st Sun. Sept. May) Prayer Warriors Media Library Open Sunday School W.O.W. - Worship Our Way (Children s Church) Worship Service Hearts & Hands Puppet Ministry (Sept.- June) Praise Raisers (1st-6th grade) Deacon s Meeting (2nd Sun.) Youth Building Open (7th-12 Grades) Belles of The Branch RA s & GA s B.A.S.I.C. Youth Bible Study (7th 12th Grades) Building & Grounds Mtg. (as announced) 8:00 a.m. 9:15 a.m. 9:10 a.m. 9:45 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. 5:32 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:18 p.m. 6:00 p.m Second Branch Road Chesterfield, VA (804) Rev. C. Steven Vaughan Pastor steve@secondbranch.org MONDAY Activities Women on Mission/WMU (2nd Mon. Sept.- May) (2nd Mon. June- Aug.) God s Patchworkers (3rd Monday of each month) Stewardship Meeting (Monthly) Regular TUESDAY Activities Alzheimer s Support Group (1st Tues. each month) The King s Daughters (2nd & 4th Tues.) Regular WEDNESDAY Activities Music Library Staff Wednesday Night Dinner (1st Wed. Sept.- May) Sanctuary Choir Prayer Meeting 6:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 10:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m. 10:30 a.m. 6:15 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 5:45 p.m. 6:45 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:45 p.m. Rev. Brian S. Jones Minister to Youth/Associate Pastor brian@secondbranch.org Miss Stephanie Gilmer Music Director stephanie@secondbranch.org Bettie Little Secretary secretary@secondbranch.org Regular THURSDAY Activities Men s Biblical Study Young Seniors of SBBC (3rd Thurs. Sept.- May) Production Team 6:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m. As Announced. facebook.com/secondbranch A monthly publication of Second Branch Baptist Church. Stay Connected by subscribing at