First Baptist Church PO Box 366 Calvert City KY 42029-0366 270-395-4600 Return Service Requested Pastor Music Minister Children s Ministry Director Leaders Ministry Assistant Church Organist/Pianist Custodians Dr. Jim Ewing Danny Granstaff Janet Dietsch Lance & Trena Gregory Jan Moore Vicki Madison Marshall & Gail Agent January 2019 The Challenge Our Mission: Encounter Grow Serve Share Our Vision: Becoming Fully Committed Followers of Jesus Christ making a Kingdom Impact on Calvert City Sunday Schedule Wednesday Schedule 9:00 am Sunday School Prayer Meeting 10:15 am Worship Service Ministry 5:30 pm AWANA J.U.M.P. (K-5 th Grade) (Kid s Choir First Wed) 7:00 pm Choir Practice
Prayer Concerns for Our Church Family Jackie Prater Baptist Health Lowell O Daniel rehab at home Becky Tynes back issues, significant pain Kean McKinney health issues Linda McKinney recovering from back surgery, doing well Lillian Dees suffering from Shingles, back at Stilley House Convalescent Centers/Assisted Living Rivers Capps CCCC rehab Lillian Dees Stilley House Homebound Carolyn Burt Military Members Corey Joiner Ben Sewell Trent Low Prayer Concerns for Friends & Loved Ones Kara Wilson (daughter of Glenda Adair, CC City Hall) dealing with very aggressive cancer Matthew Sickling (Oral s son) significant back pain Tom Low (Gene Low s husband) home recovering Aaron Clayton wife Tiffany passed from a stroke Sarah Beth Sickling recovering from hand surgery College Students Allie Owen UK Law School Shelton Owen - University of Alabama Kayla Travis MSU Kelsey Littrell WKU Gatton Academy $$$ DECEMBER FIGURES $$$ GENERAL BUDGET FUNDS ACTIVITIES BUILDING & SIGN FUNDS Budget Needs Monthly $ 21,385 Budget Receipts (thru Dec 26th) $ 23,550 Activities Bldg. Total $ 15,223 YTD Budget Needs $ 271,250 Sign Fund Total $ 11,314 YTD Budget Receipts (thru Dec 26th) $ 272,177 Jan 2 - Trena Gregory Jan 2 Halee Latta Jan 9 Kelsey Littrell Jan 11 Bro. Jim Ewing Jan 13 Kristin Poague Jan 17 Janie Pagel Jan 23 Carolyn Burt Jan 24 Michelle Ramsey Jan 26 Nigel Broyles Jan 27 Sandra Wiles January 3 Parvin & Darlene Latta
From Your Pastor: Jim Ewing Promises. Promises are a part of our daily lives. Some promises are specific such as the ones we make to our family members and friends. Some are implied in that they are understood without any detailed discussion... such as those made by an employer regarding workplace safety or to our husbands, wives. When you and I recite the Pledge of Allegiance... you may not have ever thought of it this way... you are making a promise to your fellow Americans that you re committed to the welfare of the nation by being a good and productive citizen. Promises are important to our lives because they help us bridge the gap between what is true today and what we hope will be true in the future. While we don t think about it very often, promises are also part of our lives as a Christians. When you became a Christian, you asked Jesus to forgive you of your sin and God promised to forgive you and to guarantee you the gift of eternal life (Eph 2:8-9; Roman 10:9-10). And when you joined First Baptist Church, you made a promise to the members of this church family to be an active and supportive member of the family. It s easy to remember God s promises to us... but in the busyness of life, the promises we made to each other can easily fade from our memory. That s why each year since 2012, we begin the new year with what I ve called our Covenant Renewal Service. Covenant is simply another word for promise... and this service is a reminder of the promises we ve made to each other. Our church covenant is our commitment to live out our faith in the context of this body of believers called First Baptist Church. The details of the church covenant aren t specifically spelled out in Scripture, but they are a reflection of the guidelines Scripture gives us for interaction among believers. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 reminds us of the importance of our mutual commitment. Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. Our church covenant is our commitment to lift and protect each other up. Some today question the need for a church covenant, but that reflects a common tendency to think of our relationship with God in terms of our personal experience, rather than seeing ourselves as part of a corporate body. The apostle Paul urges us to think corporately: Phil 2:3-4 - Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Our covenant is a recognition that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. As you read through our church covenant, you might think it seems overly intrusive in the demands it makes our personal lives. But think about the limits we place on our lives as we commit to sports teams or our work place... and even in our marriages and families. Certainly, the welfare of the family of God is worthy of our loyalty and support. As 1 John 4:20 teaches us,... the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. Our covenant is an expression of our love and loyalty for each other. We might be tempted to think that the target for a church covenant is not the faithful member but to set straight members who are wrestling with significant sin. Nothing could be further from the truth! As the writer of Hebrews reminds us: Hebrews 3:12-13 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We re all vulnerable to failure. Ultimately, our church covenant is important because it s how we help each other remain faithful to our commitment to God. I hope that you ll make every effort to join us for this special service on Sunday, January 6, 2019 as we remember our promises to each other. If you don t have a personal copy of our Church Covenant, we will provide one to you at the service. If you would like to read through the covenant in advance, a copy is on our website under the New to FBC tab (www.calvertfbc.org). May the Lord bless us as we remember our promises to each other... and to Him! Together in Him, Bro Jim Children s Ministry: Janet Dietsch Happy New Year!!! My prayer for this year is that it will be the best year with children. We are still working on The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss in J.U.M.P. The children are learning a lot and having so much fun with it. AWANA will start back on Jan. 6 th. It will be registration for the new semester too. Hope to see everyone back and maybe some new ones. Stay safe and warm during this month. Children in Christ, Janet Dietsch
Music Ministry: Danny Granstaff Dear Church Family, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Christine and I want to thank you all so much for a great 2018 year! Christine is not always able to be here, due to her work schedule, however her heart and spirit is always with us during the services she cannot attend. One memory we will always cherish is being officially ordained into the Gospel Ministry. We cannot think of a better church family in which to be part of as that took place. Your trust and faith in me as your Music Minister has helped me to grow in my abilities and gifts in serving you in greater ways. Another memory we re thankful for is the beginning of the Kid s Town Jubilee Chorus. Wow! Talk about fun! It s a pleasure to work with your kids as they have fun learning new songs, learning some rhythm instruments, and singing for Jesus during our worship services. The KID S TOWN JUBILEE CHOURS meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. Also in this new 2019 year, we hope to implement more of our youth group in bringing some music into our worship services as well and, we will continue to minister through the FBC Choir. The FBC Choir continues to amaze me by the sound they produce and I m very thankful in leading them. ONE LAST NOTE: Speaking of the choir. We will soon be starting to work on our Easter Cantata. If you have been hesitant to sing in the choir full time, and perhaps just want to get a taste of what it is like, this would be a great time to be part of the choir as we prepare for the 2019 EASTER CANTATA. We are more than happy to have you! Blessing to you all in this NEW YEAR! Worshipping always, Danny Ministry: Lance & Trena Gregory December has flown by and Christmas is upon us, just 5 days away!! We have had our lock-in at the church Friday night 12/14/18, we had 23 kids from 9pm - 7am. The newly remodeled youth room (Upper Room), kitchen, gym and even old youth room was used. We had plenty of room and new equipment and games to keep them busy all night. Most of them wanted to eventually find a quiet spot to close their eyes but Lance and I had too much energy for that! Every hour they would come to the gym for some group games which was a huge hit! The new backboards didn t get much rest either; I think someone was always shooting hoops during free time. Lots of eating and laughter went on all night which is nothing new for our kitchen, it always stays busy in there. By 6 am there were a lot of eyes closing and they just wanted to eat breakfast and get home. On Dec. 19 th the youth had our annual Christmas party. We finally switched to having a taco bar instead of Pizza!! Special thanks to Gayla Gregory for making us brownies and 4 stack for desserts. We played Secret Santa with lots of plotting over a body pillow and a Christmas blanket. Who knew those would be the hot items of the night! We watched the movie Christmas Experience, decorated ginger bread house,s and had our Christmas party so I guess it is officially Christmas now and we are ready to celebrate Jesus s Birthday! We re looking forward to the New Year, to see what the Lord has in store for us! Praying for our whole church to grow in numbers and for him to use us in a mighty way! In Christ, Lance & Trena Gregory POSTAL RATES ARE SCHEDULED TO INCREASE ON JANUARY 27 TH, 2019. FIRST CLASS STAMPS WILL GO UP 5 CENTS - COSTING A TOTAL OF $0.55 CENTS FOR A FIRST CLASS STAMP. THE FOREVER STAMPS ARE STILL GOOD, EVEN AFTER THE NEW RATES TAKE EFFECT SO YOU MAY WANT TO STOCK UP BEFORE THE INCREASE. If you are receiving this newsletter by mail and would prefer to get the link via e-mail, just call the office at 270-395-4600 and let me know. Jan Moore, Ministry Assistant
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT Dec 30 Dec 31 1 2 3 4 5 Covenant Renewal Service AWANA resumes Church Office Closed Church Office Closed Prayer Mtg Kid s Choir Kids back to school 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Ladies Bible Study 6:30 pm Activity Center Reserved PM (Pickleball) Prayer Mtg Adult Choir 7:00 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Deacons Mtg. Awana 5:30 Ladies Bible Study 6:30 pm Business Mtg Adult Choir 7:00 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Awana 5:30 Martin Luther King Day Banks Closed No School Ladies Bible Study 6:30 pm Prayer Mtg Adult Choir 7:00 Financial Peace University Begins (Friday option) Financial Peace University Begins 2:00 pm (Sunday option) Awana 5:30 27 28 29 30 31 Feb 1 Feb 2 Ladies Bible Study 6:30 pm Prayer Mtg Adult Choir 7:00 Financial Peace University NURSERY ASSISTANTS USHERS PRAYER ROOM DEACON OF THE WEEK Jan 6 Alison Risher & Jill Pagel Gerry Poague Gene Low & Heather Littrell Dale Smith 270-564-8457 Jan 13 Alison Risher & Kristin Poague Adam Morton Dale Smith & Les Evans Andy Pagel 270-210-7589 Jan 20 Alison Risher & Tricia Greer Les Evans Sam Jones & Ray Tucker Lance Gregory 270-703-4881 Jan 27 Alison Risher & Debbie Mahaffey Larry Coursey Phyllis O Bryan & Karen Dodson Ray Tucker 270-556-5115 Jan Feb Children s Church Marcella s Drivers Counters Teller Team Jennifer Burnham Tricia Greer Tue Jan 1: Closed Fri Jan 4: Sam Jones Mon Jan 7: Becky & Nigel Tue Jan 8: Ray Tucker Fri Jan 11: Nancy Whitler Mon Jan 14: Betty Thompson Tue Jan 15: Dale Smith Fri Jan 18: Dale Smith Mon Jan 21: Nigel Tue Jan 22: David Madison Fri Jan 25: Sam Jones Mon Jan 28: Mildred Tue Jan 29: Ray Tucker Jan: Sam & Jo Beth Jones Feb: Billy & Anna Hodge