From your missionary page 2 Help kids go to camp page 2 Church news page 3 Wild game supper page 4 Mission trips to Europe page 4 Ministers to preview movie at February fellowship page 4 GBC events page 5 2013 church contributions page 6 Omar Heights Baptist Church reaching out to community REACH 2014 page 6 Church positions available page 7 Omar Heights Baptist Church and Pastor Roy Taylor are reaching their community for Jesus through a food program on Mondays after school and Wednesdays before church services. They began this outreach program about ten months ago and are ministering to around 25 people, mostly children and youth.
Page 2 From your missionary I trust that everyone has had a good start for this new year. I have been praying and envisioning what God wants to do in our association in 2014. I would like to take this opportunity and share with you the things God has laid on my heart. First, I am praying that our Gary Leutzinger churches will reach more lost people than ever before. During the 2013 church year, 26 of our churches baptized 129 people. I praise God for those baptisms because each of those individuals were given new life and have committed their lives to Christ! This year I would love to see that number more than double and that every one of our churches will have reported baptisms. Let me encourage and challenge every person to share their faith and the good news with at least two people during each month of this year. We have approximately 2,480 individuals that attend morning worship in our 41 churches and if half of those who attended our churches would win one person to the Lord and see them baptized, we would have 1,240 baptisms. I really believe God will use us to reach that many people if we will capture this vision and ask God to give us a stronger passion for reaching the lost. I also am praying that God will use the mission teams that will be ministering locally and around the world. We are going to have opportunities to reach the lost through a cooperative effort in many ways. We are st going to have a Wild Game Supper on March 1 to reach the lost men in our communities. I am praying that the men of our churches will do everything they can and bring lost men to this event. There is no doubt if we can reach the lost men, then we can reach their families. Please join us in this effort. I am also believing that God will use the teams that will be going to different countries to share the Gospel. I am excited about the new area of ministry in Romania. I will be leading a team in March to go into new territory to preach the Gospel and to hold eye glass clinics. A large team is going back to Moldova and the Ukraine as well. There are several groups going to Bolivia this year and many of these groups will be going into new territory. I want to encourage all of our churches to be praying for all of these teams, and we will see God move in a mighty way! The Word of God tells us in Psalms 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Let this be the year that we totally commit our lives in sharing the good news of the Gospel and that many souls will be born into the Kingdom of God! Pressing on toward the goal! Bro. Gary Help kids go to this summer For only $75 you can send a child to Camp Houston this summer where they will not only have a lot of fun but they will go grow closer to God. You will be making a great eternal investment. We always have kids who need scholarships, and we are thankful God provides generous people to fill this need. However, this year we anticipate even more kids who want to go to Camp Houston who will only be able to go on scholarship. If you d like to invest in a child this way, please send $75 for each scholarship to Houston Baptist Association, PO Box 1274, Cordele, GA 31010. Visit www.houstonbaptist.org for more news and information. Visit us on Facebook too.
Page 3 Church news Arabi Church to hold first annual Brotherhood Men s Conference Feb. 8 Pastor Johnny Evans and Arabi Church invite the men of Houston Association for a great time of food, fun, fellowship and worship at Camp Houston on February 8 from 1:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (drop-ins welcome). Come and enjoy the skeet shooting contest (bring your shotgun and shells), horseshoes contest, door prizes, delicious supper and a praise and worship band. Matt Greene, pastor of Unity Baptist Church in Sylvester, will bring a challenge from God s Word. Rev. Evans says, Brother Matt is a straight shooter from God s Word. He is as spot on with his message as he is shooting a bow. Call Bro. Johnny at 229-646-9507 or Lane Stuckey at 229-322-6338 to RSVP and for more information. Hatley Church has licensed Tom Stephens to preach the Gospel. He is ready and available for preaching opportunities and can be reached at 229-322-9400. Old Paths Quartet January 31, 7pm Ugandan Thunder January 30, 7pm Pinecrest Baptist Church th 1007 E 19 Ave., Cordele Ebenezer Church will host a Tabernacle in the Wilderness seminar led by Frank Daws February 2 5. Starting time is 6:00 p.m. on Sunday and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. Call Fred Jones at 229-322-8286 for more information. Zion Hill Church ordained Jody McGinnis into the ministry on December 29. He is the new pastor at FISH Church in Seville. Acorn Pond Church called Billy Tison as pastor on January 5. Harmony Baptist Church 5929 Pinehurst Hawkinsville Rd., Unadilla Morningside Church will celebrate Homecoming and begin revival services on February 16 with Don Howell as the guest preacher. A covered dish meal will follow the Sunday 11am worship service. A GospelSing will begin at 1pm. Monday through Wednesday services are at 7pm. The ladies ensemble GLOW will sing at the Tuesday service.
Page 4 Men s Ministries plans Wild Game Supper Men will enjoy great food and fellowship at the W i l d G a m e Supper event on March 1 at Vienna First Church. It will all begin at 4:00 p.m. which will give the guys time to check out all the great outdoor vendor exhibits. A supper of various deliciously prepared wild game with all the trimmings will be served at 6:00 p.m. Jeff Deaver of Xtreme Christian Outdoors will wind up the evening with an evangelistic message so men bring your unchurched friends. Tickets are $8 per person and are available at Houston Baptist Center, 2116 US 41 N, Cordele. Call 229-273-4127 for more information. Pray for upcoming mission trips On February 24, a team of 18 people will be leaving for Moldova and Ukraine on a mission trip and will return March 6. Team members from our association include Ray Burnette, Connie Carney, Pam Dollar, Chris Hurt, Fred Jones, Sandra McKinney, Stacey Posey, Sam Purdy, Greg Sims, Jane White, and Aubrey Wynn. On March 20, a mission team of Nancy Gibbs, Bruce Howland, Gary Leutzinger, and Pat Story will leave for Romania to work in a new area and return March 27. The team will be leading worship services where the Gospel will be presented followed by an eye glass clinic. Funds are needed to purchase the glasses and other costs of the trip. If you would like to contribute to this need, please send contributions to Houston Baptist Association, PO Box 1274, Cordele, GA 31010, before March 17. A movie and lunch for Feb. ministers fellowship Ministers, you are invited to bring your wife to the monthly ministers fellowship on February 24 at 10:00 a.m. at Cordele First Church for a prescreen viewing of the movie God s Not Dead. Please RSVP to 273-4127 by February 19. Get your Houston Herald early and in full color Help us get the associational news to you quicker and better by signing up for the digital edition. All you have to do i s send your emai l to secretary@houstonbaptist.org. We will then stop sending you a hard copy in the mail. This technology of publishing our news digitally provides another advantage. It will save your association money if enough subscribers switch to the digital edition only. BUT, if this is not possible or convenient for you, we will be more than happy to continue mailing you a hard copy of our monthly newsletter. It would be great if everyone in your church subscribed to our newsletter. Maybe someone in your church could gather the emails and/or mailing addresses of your church members and pass them on to us? Associational Executive Committee Meeting February 17, 2014 at 7pm
Page 5 Focus on boomer ministry at 2014 Senior Adult Ministry Conference Mabel White Church, 1415 Bass Road, Macon, will host the 2014 Senior Adult Ministry Conference February 10 11. The guest speaker Amy Hanson is a specialist in boomer ministry. Workshop topics include: Disaster Relief: How can I get involved Sunday School for seniors Idea swap shop Trends of effective boomer ministries Technology tips Cost is $35 per person if registered by Jan. 27. For more information and to register go to www.gabaptist.org. Help your children learn to do missions Each February, thousands of children across North America participate in ministry projects on the same day: Children s Ministry Day. From feeding hungry people to visiting shut-ins, girls and boys follow God s command to put your love into action (1 John 3:18). Church groups create projects that meet needs in their own comunities. WMU created CMD to move children out of their churches and into their communities to do missions. CMD 2014 is February 15. Learn more at www.wmu.com/cmd. Visit www.gabaptist.org for more great GBC events.
Page 6 Undesignated church contributions for 2013 Acorn Pond......................... $200.00 Agape............................... 100.00 Antioch............................. 1,600.00 Arabi.............................. 2,742.70 Bakersfield................................ 0 Bethel.............................. 1,127.00 Byromville.......................... 6,352.40 Dooling............................. 100.00 Drayton............................. 1,800.00 Ebenezer............................ 9,174.95 Filadelphia........................... 878.55 First Cordele........................ 35,441.42 First Unadilla........................ 2,750.00 First Vienna......................... 5,664.29 First Warwick........................ 2,767.67 Harmony............................ 4,033.32 Hatley.............................. 1,800.00 Lake Blackshear...................... 4,816.71 Lakeshore........................... 1,200.00 Liberty............................. 3,125.96 Lilly................................. 75.00 Mars Hill............................. 65.00 Morningside.......................... 584.63 Mt. Pleasant............................... 0 Mt. Vernon........................... 330.00 New Harvest.......................... 546.75 Northern Heights..................... 5,650.00 Oakfield.................................. 0 Omar Heights......................... 246.00 Penia............................... 8,082.24 Pinecrest........................... 13,157.36 Pinehurst........................... 1,166.68 Pleasant Grove....................... 2,184.23 Riverview........................... 1,200.00 Rock Hill............................. 60.00 Sharon............................. 1,517.71 Smyrna............................. 9,591.16 Tippettville........................... 300.00 Victory.............................. 150.00 Wenona............................. 650.00 Zion Hill............................ 1,065.40 TOTAL.......................... 132,297.13 4 conferences. 4 locations. 4 themes 1 purpose: to help you reach more REACH IN Leadership Retreat, Feb. 6-8, Jekyll Island Club Hotel REACH BEYOND Vision [Preaching] Conference, Feb. 10-11, First Baptist Brem en REACH OUT Strategy Conference, Feb. 24-25, Maysville Baptist REACH OUT Revival [Preaching] Conference, First Baptist Albany, Leesburg Go to www.gbcevangelismconferences.com for more info. March 14, 2014; 7pm Crisp County Middle School Auditorium Tickets are available now at itickets.com and soon at Cordele First United Methodist Church office, Adams Drug Store, and Judy s Small World.
Page 7 Please pray for these Associational Missionary Gary Leutzinger Jim Britt Rose Burnette Lauralyn and Troy Drew William Johnson Happi Keenan Lost people Merle Sheffield Tyler Smith Unity in our churches and unity among our churches Upcoming associational and church events Churches without pastors Mars Hill, Northern Heights, Oakfield, Pinecrest, Rock Hill. Church positions available Opportunities coming up Houston Baptist Association events are printed in bold type. HBC is an abbreviation for Houston Baptist Center. Feb. 6 Sons of Jubal Concert, First Church, 221 S. Lee St.,Americus, 7pm Feb. 9 Racial Reconciliation Sunday Feb. 10-11 Senior Adult Leadership Conference, Mabel White Church, Macon Feb. 10-16 Focus on WMU Week Feb. 14 Valentine s Day Feb. 15 Children s Ministry Day Feb. 17 President s Day Executive Committee Meeting, HBC, 7pm Feb. 24 Morningside Church is seeking a nursery worker for Sundays, 9:45 am 12:15pm. Call Pastor Stan Bowen (273-3553) or George Cook (273-5183) if interested. Northern Heights Church is seeking a full-time pastor. Send resumes to Randy Morris, PO Box 441, Cordele 31010 or randymorris92476@yahoo.com. Smyrna Church is seeking a part-time minister of music. If interested, contact Linda White at 229-268-6792. Ministers Monthly Fellowship. Prescreening of God s Not Dead movie, Cordele First Church, 10am. Lunch after movie.. Moldova/Ukraine mission team leaves returning Mar. 6 Mar. 1 Wild Game Supper, Vienna First Church, 4pm Supper at 6pm Mar. 2-9 Week of Prayer for North American Missions Annie Armstrong Easter Offering Unadilla First Church is looking for a youth pastor and pianist. Call 478-627-3615. Vienna First Church is seeking a pianist for Sunday AM worship and weekly choir practice. Contact Jim Bolton at 229-268-4386. Birthdays & Anniversaries Feb. 8 Feb. 10 Feb. 17 Feb. 19 Feb. 22 Feb. 24 Feb. 27 Teresa Ward Cecelia Fountain Virginia Evans Betty Smith Lisa & Richard Chalk Noah Duncan Tim Price Houston Baptist Center 2116 OFFICE HOURS Sun........... Closed Mon........ 9am 4pm Tues....... 9am 4pm Wed....... 9am 3pm Thur....... 9am 4pm Fri & Sat....... Closed Closed for lunch 12 1pm
Page 8 Houston Herald is published m onthly by Houston Baptist Association. Send news and/or com m ents to P O Box 1274, Cordele, GA 31010, em ail to secretary@houstonbaptist.org or call 229-273-4127. ^ Hous on Baptist Association 2116 Hwy 41 ^ P O Box 1274 ^ Cordele, GA 31010 www.houstonbaptist.org 229-273-4127 (phone); 229-273-0626 (fax) Associational Missionary: Gary Leutzinger a.m @ houstonbaptist.org NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 35 VIENNA GA 31092 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED