THE DIGEST Volume X Issue 3 April 2017 Men s Ministry Meetings 7PM January 16 Cordesville First Baptist February 20 Givhans Baptist March 20 Sandridge First Baptist April 17 Corinth Baptist May 15 Miles Road Baptist June 19 Chaparral Baptist July 17 FBC Jedburg August 21 Wassamassaw Baptist September 18 Salem Baptist October 16 Berkeley Baptist November 20 Memorial Baptist December no meeting
From the Director of Leadership Development James Holliday jholliday@screvenbaptist.org Are You Fluent in the Gospel? I have been reading tantalizing bits here and there recently of a renewed focus led by Jeff Vanderstelt on Gospel Fluency. I had the opportunity to read his latest book entitled appropriately Gospel Fluency last week. When I first saw the term Gospel Fluent, I thought to myself, of course I know the Gospel, it s the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus! Although this is true in the basic sense of the Gospel, Gospel Fluency is more about applying the results and benefits of the Gospel to everyday Christian life. Jeff Vanderstelt explains Gospel Fluency this way, We need to know how to believe and speak the truths of the gospel the good news of God in and into the everyday stuff of life. In other words, we need to know how to address the struggles of life and the everyday activities we engage in with what is true of Jesus: the truths of what He accomplished through His life, death and resurrection, and, as a result, what is true of us as we put our faith in Him. The Gospel has the power to affect everything in our lives. We often think of Gospel as the information to be understood to exercise faith in and trust in Jesus for salvation. While this is true, the gospel not only saves us but is the instrument for our ongoing sanctification and eventual glorification. Jeff s book helps one to understand the importance of not only knowing the blessings and benefits of the Gospel being in Christ, but of applying these truths practically to every area of the Christian s life. Leaders need to understand and apply the Gospel truth to their own life consistently. They can then assist others in understanding and applying the truth of what it means to be In Christ. Jeff also stresses the importance of speaking the truth of the Gospel consistently within the fellowship of believers. We all need to be constantly reminded of the Gospel truths and how they apply to our lives. As we learn from First John, true Christian fellowship is based upon our relationship with Christ. The main topic of our conversation with fellow believers should surround around Jesus and our life in Him. Jeff gives many good examples of how to make this a normal and effective part of our Christian experience. The Christian life is meant to be lived in the victory won for us through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The world needs to see believers living in the victory Jesus won for us. Jeff s Book Gospel Fluency is a great tool to help us understand, speak and live out the great victory we have in Jesus. I highly recommend this book! 2
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From the Director of Church and Community Ministries Susan Harris sharris@screvenbaptist.org Wow! What a great turn-out for the Associational VBS Clinic! This year s Lifeway theme is Galactic Starveyors, discovering the God of the universe. It is based around scripture from Colossians 1:15-16. Kids and adults will discover that God who made them desires a personal relationship with them. This is a great theme and I know the kids of all ages will love it. We had over 170 in attendance, representing 25 churches at First Baptist Moncks Corner last Tuesday, March 28th. The team members did a super job of leading break-out sessions and lots of fun during the worship rallies. A portion of the clinic was devoted to the importance of prayer. There were 6 prayer stations set up to visit and pray for specific things leading up to, during and after VBS. They were set up to visit before the clinic started. Then there was a prayer vigil during the 2nd rally led by 7 pastors. What a powerful way to end the night praying together. I really feel that this was the best overall clinic Screven has conducted. If you missed it, make plans not to miss next year! It is such a great fun resource for the leaders and helpers of your VBS. Thank you to all the team members and those that helped and to First Baptist Moncks Corner for hosting the clinic! If you would like to be a part to the Associational VBS Team next year, let me know now, as we will start preparing for next year in August! There will be a mission trip to Baltimore August 5-12, 2017. We will be partnering with Captivate Church. This trip we will be sponsoring a sports camp and some other activities for the students before school starts. We will be staying at the church and traveling to a satellite location in the city for the ministry projects. This will be a great opportunity for any families wanting to serve together, high school and college age students, and anyone that loves sports! Please contact me ASAP if you would like to go on mission with us! More details and exact needs will be coming soon. Sports Camps in the Association- June 2-3, Soccer Camp, Cane Bay June 5-9, Baseball, Softball, and Soccer-Bonneau Recreation Center (also VBS in the afternoon) July 24-28, All sports, St. George Middle School (with VBS in the afternoon) These camps will need individual snacks, chips, and Gatorade mix for the campers, bottled gatorade and water for the instructors. The Bonneau location will be needing help with the daily lunch for those staying for VBS. If you would like to donate or help with any of the above, please contact me ASAP. Thank you so much for your willingness to serve and provide these items! 5
CHAMPIONS FOR CHRIST SPORTS CAMP WHERE BONNEAU RECREATIONAL PARK BONNEAU, SC WHEN JUNE 5 ---- 9, 2017 TIME 9:00AM ---- 12:00 NOON SPONSORED BY SCREVEN BAPTIST ASSOCIATION GRADES 1 ST THROUGH 6 TH JUST $20.00 FOR THE WHOLE WEEK IF YOU SIGN UP BY MAY 31! CAMP TEE SHIRTS ALSO!!!! $25.00 IF YOU SIGN UP AFTER MAY 27 SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE! REGISTRATION FORMS IN CONCESSION STAND AT BONNEAU PARK AND ON WEBPAGE www.screvenbaptist.org/docs/2017 CIFC SPORTS CAMP.pdf HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS, CURRENT COLLEGE PLAYERS AND FORMER COLLEGE PLAYERS WILL BE COACHING SPORTS AVAILABLE AT CAMP BASEBALL SOFTBALL SOCCER BASKETBALL VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL OFFERED FROM 12:00noon TILL 2:00PM ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DANNY TRACY ---- 843-312-1655 SUSAN HARRIS --- 843-871-2410 EMAIL: bonneaurec@yahoo.com EMAIL: sharris@screvenbaptist.org 6
From the Director of Missions Robert Bailey bbailey@screvenbaptist.org I had the privilege last weekend of participating in a Kairos Weekend at Lieber Correctional Institute in Ridgeville. The mission of Kairos (God s Special Time) is to bring Jesus love and forgiveness to the incarcerated individuals. We did this through leading the men into experiencing a friendship with God emphasizing the importance of their learning that a relationship with God is their only hope for leading productive lives inside the institution. The volunteers shared talks about the value of making right choices, the importance of prayer and Bible study, learning how to forgive, and practicing Christian action. More than fifty volunteers from churches around the low country spent the weekend building relationships with thirty residents, coaching, and modeling for them basic foundations of the Christian life. Other volunteers from Screven churches included Mason van Tassel from Old Fort, Wayne Murdaugh from Givhans, and Richard German from Church at Cane Bay. A special thank you goes out to those individuals and churches who baked more than 100 dozen homemade cookies! A special thank you goes out to Susan Harris and her Associational VBS team for leading in an awesome Associational VBS Preview Clinic. The clinic was held at First Baptist Moncks Corner on March 28, 2017. Break-out sessions were held for age group leaders, with a closing rally and VBS Prayer vigil. Attendance was 170 with 25 churches represented. Thank you to FBC Moncks Corner for hosting this important associational training event. Thank you goes out to our churches for your continued prayer and financial support of the association. We are grateful for our kingdom partnership with you! Pastors Conference May 7 11AM Screven Office Doing Mission on the Local Level Joel Ainsworth, Community Pastor Church at Cane Bay 7
8 Screven Baptist Association 1851 Dawson Branch Road Summerville, SC 29483 843-871-2410 Toll Free: 1-800-868-2410 Fax 843-821-7050 Screven@screvenbaptist.org www.screvenbaptist.org Thank You for Your Faithful Financial Support! FEBRUARY YTD FEBRUARY YTD Berkeley 569.97 1,298.34 Mt. Olivet 0.00 0.00 Bethel 282.95 515.63 Mt. Zion 131.00 243.00 Beulah 0.00 0.00 North Trident 521.56 1,147.56 Bonneau First 556.45 556.45 Oakbrook, The Fellowship of 200.00 400.00 Brookhaven 0.00 0.00 Old Fort 3,565.90 7,946.95 Calvary, Moncks Corner 872.00 1,785.00 Old St. George 0.00 500.00 Calvary Pregnall 0.00 0.00 Pleasant Grove 151.03 329.95 Chaparral 30.00 60.00 Providence 280.92 500.03 College Park 0.00 664.04 Reevesville 200.00 400.00 Cordesville, First 465.44 465.44 Ridge 0.00 0.00 Corinth 200.00 400.00 Ridgeville 298.70 602.85 Crossroads 350.00 700.00 St. John's Bethel 491.39 866.55 Eutawville, First 130.00 240.00 St. Matthews 208.33 564.13 Faith 153.20 310.58 St. Stephen, First 0.00 0.00 Flowertown 0.00 0.00 Salem 0.00 0.00 Gethsemane 0.00 0.00 Sandridge 284.00 559.25 Givhans 0.00 149.41 Sangaree Baptist Church 0.00 600.00 Harleyville, First 435.06 881.66 Santee Circle 166.66 333.32 Harristown Road 0.00 0.00 Summerville 2,191.86 4,974.88 Holly Hill, First 600.00 1,200.00 Tall Pines 300.00 499.00 Hopewell 0.00 0.00 Wassamassaw 1,073.92 2,147.84 Iglesia Nueva Vision 0.00 0.00 The Journey Church 0.00 0.00 Jamestown 0.00 0.00 Compass Church 78.78 78.78 Jedburg, First 956.36 1,839.56 The Pines Church 0.00 100.00 Knightsville 0.00 0.00 Solid Rock Ministries 800.00 1,600.00 Lighthouse Community 0.00 0.00 Cornerstone 150.00 300.00 Limestone 154.00 349.00 The Church at Cane Bay 0.00 0.00 Lydia 0.00 204.87 Ministerio Hispano de la Ridge 0.00 0.00 Memorial 0.00 1,250.33 Trueway Missionary Baptist 0.00 0.00 Midway 310.42 575.06 Total Revenues 17,909.90 39,639.46 Miles Road 0.00 0.00 Total Expenses 19,517.64 39,798.69 Moncks Corner, First 750.00 1,500.00 Tyner-Jackson Offering 349.36 349.36 8