APRIL 2014 As was announced on Sunday, March 23, the leadership offered the position of Minister of Worship and Discipleship to Mark Bond and he accepted. Mark will begin his ministry with Batesville Christian Church in early May. His responsibilities will include overseeing and developing the worship ministry of our church along with coordinating our adult discipleship ministries. Mark is eager to do both saying in his query letter to the church, While I love the organization, preparation and execution of leading worship, I long for discipleship. Currently living in Webb City, Missouri (near Joplin), Mark has worked in worship leadership with churches ranging in size from 150 to 3000. He and his wife, Rachel, are looking forward to putting down roots in a smaller town and serving with us for many years to come. Mark grew up in a preacher s home before going to Central Christian College in Moberly, Missouri where he met Rachel. They have 3 children: Ruthy, 11 (a leader, or mini-mom as her parents describe her, Ruthy is a great friend), Moriah, 9 (a deep thinker, Moriah is more reserved than her older sister and a little on the shy side, but a real sweetheart), and Javan, 7 (Javan loves to laugh and make others laugh). Mark and Rachel have opened their home to foster children and hope to continue once they are settled in Indiana. On the down side, Mark is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. Nobody s perfect! Rachel enjoys family bike rides and baking with her kids (I assume she likes baking with other ingredients as well). While Mark will join us in early May, the rest of the family won t be moving out here until school lets out in June. If you would like to send a note or a card to Mark and Rachel, and the kids, welcoming them to our church family, their address is: 1135 Rosedale Square, Webb City, MO 64870. A big thanks to the members of the search team who have been at this process since last August. Serving on the team were: Richie Scott, Debbie Mullins, Madison Schloemer, Chris Lehman, Gary Brower, Joe Ralston, Joe Ayette, and myself. The team sorted through dozens of resumes, interviewed several candidates, thoroughly checked with references, and spent a lot of time praying for the candidate who would best help lead our church in worship and discipleship. The leadership firmly believes the search team found the right man for the job. Please keep Mark and Rachel, and their family, in your prayers during this time of transition. Serving Him with you, Steve Batesville Christian Church exists to glorify God by seeking the lost, building up the saved, and serving the community.
< Special 2-Week Sermon Series > For two weeks April 6 and April 13 we are going to look at God s offer of salvation and how to respond to that offer. If you re thinking about becoming a Christian, or know somebody who is, you ll want to take advantage of this series. If you re already a believer in Christ, but have not been immersed, this series will answer many of your questions about the importance of baptism by immersion. Please keep this series in your prayers and make plans to be a part of it. WELCOME to the FAMILY FREE Hymnals Steve & Angela Doll became members of BCC on March 9th. Their children are Mason, Owen, Eli and Caleb. Sandra Wakefield was baptized March 5th. Sandra is Laurie Rodgers mother and recently moved here from Wisconsin. We have a large number of hymnals to give away. We have offered these to several churches and organizations but none have taken us up on the offer. If you would like a church hymnal they are boxed up in the Conference Room (in the office area). Any left after April 15th will be donated to Goodwill.
Post-Easter Sermon Series With spring in the air, Prime Time Senior Adult women are going out for lunch! We are taking the suggestion of Indiana s Travel Guide, Honest to Goodness Indiana, and heading for lunch at Stone s Family Restaurant in Decatur County on Thursday, April 17. Described as home cooking at it s best, we are avoiding the hustle and bustle of city restaurants and taking a scenic drive in the country to Millhousen, Indiana! Meet at BCC and leave from there by 11:00. Sign up at the Prime Time bulletin board or call Karen Trebley for your reservation. Also note on the Prime Time bulletin board some of the upcoming events for women and couples planned for the new season of fun together. HONEST ANSWERS TO HONEST QUESTIONS April 27 Does It Really Matter What You Believe, Just As Long As You re Sincere? May 4 Can the Bible Be Trusted? May 11 Doesn t Christianity Really Just Make People Worse Instead of Better? May 18 Doesn t Science Disprove Christianity? May 25 Doesn t the Suffering of the World Prove God Doesn t Care (or Doesn t Exist)? CHURCH MOWERS NEEDED The deacons are looking for two more people who would be willing to mow the church lawn 2 or 3 times this year. There are currently seven on the mowing schedule. The mowing takes less than two hours. You would use the church s John Deere tractor (or bring your own). If you have questions or are willing to help with the mowing, contact Bill Trebley at 934-5140. CONCRETE PARKING BUMPERS You have no doubt noticed that the concrete parking bumpers have been removed from the church gravel parking area. The bumpers were donated to the City of Batesville for use at The Plex (sports complex center). It was necessary to remove the bumpers as we approach our building expansion and renovation. Part of the project is to pave the gravel parking lot including lined parking space markings. This is just the start of a summer with some construction inconvenience. Community Prayer Service Thursday, May 1st Noon 12:30 At the Gazebo on the Village Green If you would like to volunteer for this event, please contact Melissa Kaiser in the church office. We especially need help with promotion and setup.
Wednesday nights are sadly coming to a close here soon (last class is April 16). What a great semester we have had! Our high school and junior high students have been studying the book Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman for the past few months and our elementary age students have been studying the Gospels leading up to the resurrection of Christ. With so much going on and so much to look forward to, I wanted to take a moment to thank those adults who have given a lot of time to show their students the love of Jesus. Without a doubt, this church is becoming a refuge, a safe place, for kids and students to grow into men and women who will follow Jesus all the days of their lives. Truth be told, without the adults who volunteer to love and teach the next generation, we as a church would be far behind where we need to be. There is always room to grow, but this is a moment where we need step back, celebrate, and praise God for raising up strong leaders. Here is a list of adults who have been helping out this semester on Wednesday nights: PreK-K: Nicole and Jake Christie 1 st -3 rd Grade: Larry Reidy 4 th -5 th Grade: Megan Najmon 6 th -8 th Grade: Jody Thomas High School: Ross Najmon and Jenny Kraus When you see anyone on this list around, please take a moment to say thank you. They re not doing this because they have to, or to gain praise, but they do this because they love Jesus and want the youth here to know Him as well. They have all done such a great job preparing lessons, having fun, and leading kids closer to God. Thank you all for a great semester! In Christ, Dan Geisen Class of 2014 If you have a 2014 high school or college graduate in the family, please let us know! We plan to recognize our graduates on June 1st during Sunday morning worship services. Please contact the church office as soon as possible with the name of the graduate, school, degree, and graduation date. More details will be sent to the graduates and parents the first part of May. Wednesday, April 30th @ 6:30 pm We are starting a new tradition this year, one that we hope will bless our soon to be high school graduates by letting them know how much they are loved by the church and by laying the groundwork for continued involvement in their lives as they prepare for the next season of life. The catered dinner is for all of our high school seniors and their parents. To RSVP, please call the church office at 934-5147 by Friday, April 18.
Currently 21 of our families have enrolled in the Kroger Community Rewards Program on our behalf. Last month we received a check for $289.22 from Kroger based on purchases made between November 1, 2013 and January 31, 2014. That s a nice amount of money coming in for our College Scholarship fund, which was created to help Bible College students who are pursuing a career in full time ministry. Just think how much we could earn if even more of our household signed up for Kroger Community Rewards! It doesn t cost anything, your personal information is not compromised, and nothing really changes for you you continue to get fuel rewards. All you have to do is register your Kroger Plus card. If you would like instructions on how to participate for BCC, contact Melissa Kaiser in the church office. We re looking for people who enjoy photography, have a nice quality camera, and time to volunteer to take some photos at church events from time to time. If this sounds like something you re interested in, contact the church office: bcc@etczone.com League starts April 15th at the YMCA! Please Note: The last Wednesday night Equipping U Classes will be on April 16th Camp season is fast approaching! May 4th we will have a representative from Mahoning Valley Christian Service Camp here to share the latest news from camp, videos and registration information. Batesville Christian Church believes so strongly in the value of the church camp experience that we will once again pay 100% of the camp registration fee for any member of our church. More details will be provided about how to register on May 4th. In the meantime, if you would like to check out the dates for summer camp, visit the camp s website: www.mahoningvalley.org or call the camp directly (765) 932-5125.
1294 Columbus Avenue Batesville, IN 47006 (812) 934-5147 www.batesvillechristianchurch.org Church Officers Elders: Tom Williams 934-9020 Vern Hackworth 934-6091 Joe Ralston 933-1304 Joe Ayette 933-1393 Ministers: Steve Yeaton 933-0745 Dan Geisen (513) 680-5359 Deacons: Darren Cole 934-3005 Paul Ehrman 934-2031 Mark Kennedy 934-6429 Gary Najmon 934-2081 Russell Nuhring 934-5138 Bill Trebley 934-5140 Chad Pindell 852-5225 Kip Main 934-5797 Richard Zeigler 623-2033 George Bley 623-3851 ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED ATTENDANCE & GIVING March, 2014 ATTENDANCE 2 9 16 23 30 Worship 321 293 290 265 OFFERING Month YTD Budget General (90%) $34,446 $101,548 92% Missions (10%) 3,827 11,283 92% GROW $16,632 $31,950 Cumulative: $324,906