VOL. 9 NO. 26 JULY 6, 2016

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1 THE BRIDGE Page 1 VOL. 9 NO. 26 JULY 6, 2016 Phrases like so special, so much fun, so well organized, and such loving leaders have been spoken and heard a great deal around our campus during and since last week s VBS. A record enrollment of 554 children and volunteers maneuvered around the building construc on to dive deep into the wonderful truths and promises of God s Word last week. Forty seven boys and girls professed faith in Christ as Lord and Savior; a number of others indicated other decisions. Many others learned about Jesus either for the first me or more fully than they ever had before. Connec ons with many new families were ini ated. Hooray for Cathy Smith and her firstrate team of faithful volunteers who made possible the biggest VBS in our history. Pray that we will see con nued fruit as we follow up on those who a ended! It was exci ng for the children (and for kids at heart like myself) to see the founda on poured last Friday for the second of our two buildings the building that will house our Lamplighter s Bible Fellowship Group and provide a fellowship area. I thought about the fact that concurrently, two different kinds of building are going on: the building of a spiritual founda on for life in our children and the building of a material structure in which to provide place for that spiritual building to include more (Con nued on page 2)

2 Page 2 THE BRIDGE STAFF Dr. Gary Dyer SENIOR PASTOR Cell garyd@austinbaptistchurch.com Dr. David Procter EXECUTIVE PASTOR Cell davidp@austinbaptistchurch.com John Parker ASSOCIATE PASTOR OF MUSIC & WORSHIP Cell johnp@austinbaptistchurch.com Matt Gillum MINISTER TO STUDENTS & THEIR FAMILIES Cell mattg@austinbaptistchurch.com Cathy Smith MINISTER TO CHILDREN & THEIR FAMILIES Cell cathys@austinbaptistchurch.com Dodie Morris MUSIC & WORSHIP ASSOCIATE dodiem@austinbaptistchurch.com Jon Marc Burge CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP ASSOCIATE jonb@austinbaptistchurch.com ADMINISTRATION Christina Mendoza MINISTERIAL STAFF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT christinam@austinbaptistchurch.com Jennifer Koret FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR jenniferk@austinbaptistchurch.com Rita Jones OFFICE MANAGER ritaj@austinbaptistchurch.com Derek Tackett FACILITIES MANAGER Cell derekt@austinbaptistchurch.com Clifteen Samuelson EVENTS COORDINATOR events@austinbaptistchurch.com (Con nued from page 1) children and adults. The material building will be finished in two phases one in less than two months and the other early next year; the building of a spiritual founda on for living will con nue un l Jesus comes! On July 13, I will be star ng a study of the Book of the Revela on on Wednesday evenings during the Bible study me at 6:00 p.m. A number of people have asked me to consider leading a study of this great final book in God s Word. I love our gathering on Wednesday evenings. It is the me we have the flexibility to probe Scripture in greater detail. It is a sweet me of fellowship around tables. It is a chance to have a fantas c dinner for the best bargain price in Aus n. It is also the me when we get acquainted in more detail with what God is doing through the ministry of our church. If you have not yet tried Wednesday night Bible study, the launching of this study on The Revela on would be an excellent me to give it a try. Meal service starts shortly a er 5:00 p.m. and we are usually on our way by 7:00 p.m. Of course, to make an even more special night of it, you can hang around for choir or orchestra rehearsal and get plugged into our wonderful music ministry! Gary Dyer, Pastor John 3:30 SUPPORT STAFF Bill Dickson FINANCE CLERK billd@austinbaptistchurch.com Elena Samper ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT elenas@austinbaptistchurch.com Meredith Todd CHILDREN S MINISTRY ASSOCIATE mereditht@austinbaptistchurch.com Kati Dobbs CHILDREN S MINISTRY ASSOCIATE katid@austinbaptistchurch.com

3 THE BRIDGE Page 3 Welcome New Member Susan Doman joins our church by statement of faith; she was bap zed in a Bap st congrega on in the Metroplex where she grew up. She and her husband David have been worshiping with us and a ending various Bible Fellowship groups since March. Susan and David met on a blind date and were married in They have two grown children, Erin and Sco, who live here in Aus n. Photo is not available for publica on at this me. New Label Printers Given to ABC First Bap st Church of Forney, Texas, has donated ten high speed label printers and a supply of labels to our church. First Bap st has recently switched to a Shelby system which uses a different printer. ABC member and Deacon Ron McClarty informed them that we could make good use of the printers at check in sta ons in our new building. Stanley Wood and his son Zachary were able to pick up the printers when they were traveling to a scout camp in Arkansas. The printers cost several thousand dollars, and they are like new. Charles Treadway, Execu ve Pastor of First Bap st, authorized this dona on. We are deeply grateful for his help and for the generosity of this sister church. South Building Progress Begins The slab for the south building was poured early in the morning on July 1. Soon, prepara on will begin for pouring the lt walls. American Constructors is doing a great job in moving this project forward! (Photos on right) (Con nued on page 4)

4 Page 4 (Con nued from page 3) REPORT ON VBS 2016: 554 Enrolled; 495 Average A endance We had an incredible week of Vaca on Bible School that saw our largest enrollment and highest a endance ever! We enrolled 345 children and 209 volunteers for a total of 554. We averaged 495 in a endance each day. Forty seven children professed faith in Christ during the decision service on Thursday, led by Dr. Dyer. More than $1,000 and a tremendous amount of supplies were donated by the children and volunteers to the Aus n Pregnancy Resource Center. Cathy Smith, our amazing Minister to Children and Their Families, and her two assistants, Ka Dobbs and Meredith Todd, planned, promoted, organized, enlisted volunteers, and set the example of servant leadership each day of VBS. In the days leading up to our school, these three worked night and day ge ng everything ready. We thank God for these leaders who love children and seek to introduce them to a personal rela onship with Jesus. Dr. Dyer, John Parker, Ma Gillum and I each had a part in the opening assembly each morning. Derek Tacke ran the sound, lights, and video clips; Derek and his facili es staff Max Mar nez, Abel Medina, THE BRIDGE and Stan Manley helped create the amazing sets and visuals throughout the building. They also managed the set up and tear down of the many rooms needed for VBS. Allison D Alfonso coordinated the team that has worked since February to create the incredible decora ons. Cli een and Phil Samuelson and Karen Shively coordinated the delicious refreshments and the food for Family Night. Mary Louise McDonald enlisted and trained a team of decision counselors for our Thursday decision service. Scores of volunteers came each day to teach, serve, and share the love of Christ with hundreds of children, many of whom do not a end our church. Thank you to each one who served in VBS 2016! Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He sa sfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:8 9 David Procter

5 THE BRIDGE Page 5 9:00 AM WORSHIP Wonderful Grace of Jesus Blessed Be the Name Ring the Bells of Heaven Amazing Grace Your Grace S ll Amazes Me Grace Greater Than Our Sin 11:11 AM WORSHIP This is Amazing Grace Your Grace is Enough We are Saved Healing is in Your Hands

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7 THE BRIDGE Page 7 I, like many of you, grew up watching a small black and white TV with rabbit ears as Lucille Ball, along with her hubby, Desi Arnaz, and their friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz, got involved in one crazy scheme a er another. In one of the funniest episodes, Lucy and Ethel took jobs in a chocolate factory, wrapping chocolates sliding by on a conveyor belt. At first they were successful, but as the belt sped up their confidence turned to anxiety. They started se ng chocolates aside that they could not wrap in me; then they began ea ng them; finally they fran cally hid them in their clothes. If you have never seen this classic skit, here is a link: h ps:// I woke up this morning thinking about a long list of tasks for the day. The image of Lucy and Ethel loomed over the list, but when I went to the computer and opened Bible Gateway, the verse of the day flashed onto the screen. The first sentence of Isaiah 12:4 reads: Joyfully you ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salva on. Suddenly joyful buckets of salva on water replaced the chocolates! This wonderful li le verse is sandwiched in between two songs: The first is a song of praise to God, "We will trust you. We will not be afraid. You have saved us." The second is designed to be sung loudly, even shouted so that the world would know. "Give praise to the Lord. Make his name known. Tell the na ons what he has done. Announce how honored he is." So I am shou ng, He has done great things! Hallelujah! COMING EVENTS In the next five weeks, we will have completed: Don t blink! ENCORE! Two mission trips to Calgary Pre Teen Camp JAM Camp

8 Page 8 THE BRIDGE JULY 10 Forgive One Another Mark 11:25 JULY 17 Carry the Burdens of One Another Galatians 6:2 JULY 24 Serve One Another Galatians 5:13 Members and Guests, Some have called the Bible a Chris an how to manual. But that doesn t adequately describe God s Living Word. In the book of Ma hew, Jesus provides some principles for believers to live by, which can change your life if you are willing to adhere. Lamplighters meet in the Worship Center each Sunday morning at 10:10 a.m. If you are not already involved in a Bible Fellowship Group, we invite you to join us! Zack

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10 Page 10 THE BRIDGE We had a great Vacation Bible School! As I reflect over the past week, I saw 209 volunteers work diligently in many different areas to make a huge program come together. Thank you for sharing your time by loving our kids and showing Christ s unconditional love. I know at times it was overwhelming due to the number of children (345 total), but this special relationship is etched in children s memories for a lifetime. It gave me goosebumps as I watched children having so much fun singing at family night. To our surprise, Baby Shark was an instant favorite. (Thanks, Dodie, for bringing this song in.) A special thanks to: Meredith and Kati for helping me stay organized and for working crazy long hours to ensure VBS would run smoothly. To Derek, Stan, and Abel for spending months creating the backdrops and carving sea animals. To Max for making sure we had everything we needed. To Derek for putting the worship slides together, and to Tyler and Austin for their help in running the sound booth. I want to share a special story of a parent that has seven-year-old twins. One of them has autism. She was very hesitant about leaving her child with special needs on Monday. When she came back to pick up her boys, they were happy. She said that both boys felt accepted and loved from the start. They could not wait to go each morning. In her appreciation, she gave me a big hug and had tears of joy because they had such a great experience. God brought ABC a couple of volunteers at the last minute that were trained in special needs, Beverly and Jodi. They were amazing and a great blessing and were the reason her son enjoyed his experience at VBS. Personally, I am grateful to God that He allowed me to pray with two of our girls as they accepted Christ as their Savior. I mentioned to both of them that I was their sister in Christ and that Pastor Dyer was their brother because God is our Father. Their eyes grew wide and they smiled. The concept that they now belong to a larger family is a new one to them. I am starting a New Christian Class this Wednesday, July 6, and several children have signed up. Thank you, ABC family, for making VBS 2016 a success! In His Love,

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13 THE BRIDGE Page 13 As human beings, we love memorials. We put them everywhere. There are many public parks, landmarks, and buildings that have memorials a ached to them, marking that something of importance happened at that spot. I remember that when Adrian and I were in Paris, there was hardly a corner of the city that didn t have a memorial plaque a ached to it. And when you think about it, memorials go even beyond the decora ve plaques and statues. As crude as it might sound, many walls in public places carry graffi that acts as a memorial. What be er way to remember something special than to see, Pete was here scratched into a bench at a park? Why do we have the need to do this? Even in the Bible, we see memorial a er memorial set up remembering ba les and visions of God. One of the most remarkable was the Ebenezer stone set up by Samuel in 1 Samuel 7. It marked the spot on which God came through for Israel and protected them against a Philis ne a ack when they were mostly defenseless. A er the stone was set up, future genera ons would remember that God came through for His people. We need memorials because we need help remembering. So many of the great experiences of our lives pass forgo en because we don t mark their existence. While the lack of a remembrance doesn t make that experience any less real, when we face difficul es in our lives it is very helpful to look back to a remembrance to strengthen us. God gives us minds and hearts that respond when we remember. For our students, the summer is full of many experiences that have deepened their faith. Yet so o en we let those experiences fade with the 100+ degree days. And when the winter comes and we face challenges and tempta on, we need remembrance of the mes that we experienced and encountered the Living God. This week at Axis I will encourage students to take ac ons to remember. Journaling, drawing, and even pu ng aside a keepsake can bolster a person through a life ba le. By keeping these things, my prayer is that we can be strengthened for the marathon of this life. How will you remember how the Lord has saved the day for you? How can you crystallize the memories of your encounters with God? May we be a church that remembers our path with God through the valley of the shadow of death and takes hope that He hasn t failed us yet nor will He! By Christ s Love, Ma

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15 THE BRIDGE Page 15 Next Week at ABC Sun., July 10 9:00 a.m. Traditional Worship Service 10:10 a.m. Bible Fellowship Groups Membership 101, Choir Room 11:11 a.m. Contemporary Worship Service 12:30 p.m. Calgary Student Planning Meeting 2:00 p.m. Joyful Noise Rehearsal, Choir Room Mon., July 11 10:00 a.m. Adults on Mission Meeting, Rm :00 p.m. Student Ministry: Monday Merge at Highland Lanes Bowling Alley Tues., July 12 7:00 p.m. 11:11: Band Rehearsal Wed., July 13 3:00 p.m. JAM Camp Auditions, Rm :00 p.m. Fellowship Meal, Great Hall 6:00 p.m. Bible Study for Adults, Great Hall Children s New Christian Class, Rm. 117 Handbells 6:15 p.m. Life s Healing Choices, Rm :30 p.m. Student Ministry AXIS Fellowship & Bible Study 7:15 p.m. Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal 7:45 p.m. Orchestra Rehearsal Fellowship Menu Wed., July 13: Cheese Soup & Ham Sandwiches Deacons on Call Week of July 11, 2016 Rick Dobbs Mark Flora Our Response to God s Faithfulness Our Tithes & Offerings YTD General Fund $67, $1,420, Designated $2, $43, Bldg./Strong Foundation $3, $305, Fill the Rooms $20, $121, Total Giving $93, $1,890, Building on a Strong Foundation Total-to-Date $4,109, On the Horizon Our Attendance :00 Service Bible Fellowship Amistad... 8 JULY Preteen Camp Parent Meeting Preteen Camp Counselor Training Meeting Mission Committee Meeting Encore! iserve Calgary Mission Trip 20 Children s New Christian Class 24 Preteen Camper Parents Meeting 25 Deacons Meeting 27 Business Meeting Children s New Christian Class Pre-Teen Camp AUGUST Pre-Teen Camp 3 Outreach & Evangelism Team Meeting 7 Acteens 8 Adults on Mission Meeting 8-12 JAM Camp (Preschool & Elementary) 12 JAM Camp Program 14 Membership 101 Class 20 Bible Fellowship Leaders Training 21 Promotion Sunday Mission Committee Meeting Finance Committee Meeting 22 Deacons Meeting 24 Business Meeting More VBS photos on pages NOTE: Items for THE BRIDGE are due to Rita Jones by noon Friday. Send to ritaj@austinbaptistchurch.com AUSTIN BAPTIST CHURCH 7016 RIBELIN RANCH DRIVE AUSTIN TX