FBC Newsletter March 2017 FBC Mission Statement Our mission is to glorify God by helping people know, love, obey, and exalt Jesus Christ FBC Vision Statement Our vision is to present Christ to Decatur, Madison and the world in a contemporary and creative way through equipped and mobilized believers who make disciples. A Monthly Source of News and Information for Members & Friends of First Bible Church Decatur Madison The Mission of God in a World Gone Mad! Missions Conference March 3-5, 2017 Rodney H. Orr Dr. Rodney H. Orr is our speaker. He spent his formative years in Ethiopia and Germany. He served with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) for 34 years, 17 of which were overseas. Dr. Orr taught at the Nairobi International School of Theology in Kenya and helped build the Africa Leadership and Management Academy (ALMA), a graduate school in Zimbabwe. While stateside, his ministry focused on Yale University and United Nations diplomats in New York City. He is Department Chair and Associate Professor of World Missions and Intercultural Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr. Orr and his wife, Cortina, have a son who attends Syracuse University and a daughter who is a medical student in Antigua. Conference Schedule Visiting Missionaries will be at their tables 30 minutes before each service. Come early to meet and visit with them. Missionaries will be sharing their ministries in the services in Decatur and Madison. Friday, March 3 - Session 1 Dr. Orr - 6:00 pm Saturday, March 4 - Cottage Meetings 10:00 am - 12 Noon Saturday, March 4 - Session 2 Dr. Orr - 6:00 pm Sunday, March 5 - Session 3 Dr. Orr - 9:15 am & 10:45 am Sunday, March 5 - Closing Session - Dr. Bateman 5:15 pm Patrick Bone - Asia Clint Barthel - Auburn Kent & Marion Fuller - Belize Tyler & Allison Fuqua - Peru Brent & Lindsay Gosnell - US Glenn & Sharlene Grubb - US Chris & Dana Holloway - Ghana Loreen Ittermann - Moldova Visiting Missionaries! Tommy & Heather Kyle - US John & Jan Lohrenz - US/Spanish G & M- Middle East Bill & Linda Parker - US Vitaly & Christina Pokidko - Moldova BV - Middle East Braddock & Cortani Wilson - US Scott & Ruth Yingling - US FBC Newsletter 1 March 2017
2017 Mission Trip Opportunities to Uganda - African Renewal (June & Fall) Ty Btachelor - ty.batchelor@stacktest.com Youth Trip to Italy - Barroni -June 23-July 3 - Matthew Dubach - matt@fbc.org. Full Youth Trip to Haiti - June 17-23 - Sher ri Metzgar - sherri@fbc.org. Full Moldova - June 24-July 3 - Scott Dubach - sdubach@charter.net Ghana - Holloway - 2nd week of July - Steven Smith - ssmith122176@gmail.com Peru - Not Forgotten - June 3-11 C.J. Jacobs - byrdjacobs@gmail.com British Columbia - Campbell - August - Justin Knighten - knightenjs@gmail.com North Carolina - JAARS-Grubb - Summer GO! Madison Local Outreach Opportuities Christian Women s Job Corp (CWJC) FBC Madison Campus has begun partnering with Christian Women s Job Corps that reaches out to local women who desire to change their lives spiritually, financially and emotionally. We have the privilege to serve lunch and have fellowship with 9 students this semester. Please join us by signing up below to provide and serve food in the next few months. Wednesday, March 29, 2017 http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090c4ea9ac2ba75-monthly1 Tuesday, April 18, 2017 http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090c4ea9ac2ba75-monthly2 Wednesday, May 3, 2017 - Last Day of Class Party! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090c4ea9ac2ba75-last CWJC Mentoring is the opportunity to mentor the women enrolled in this program for 6 months. Training is given. Please contact carolynbrelsford@yahoo.com for more information on the important part of this program. FBC Newsletter 2 March 2017
Looking Ahead with Steve Steve Bateman A missions conference is a stockholder meeting for Jesus followers. We gather every Sunday morning to worship the Lord in our prayers, praise, songs, and sermons. We also worship the Lord in our giving. As the offering plates come around, we have the opportunity to make a statement of faith that says, God, I know where this came from and I know you will take care of me if I give it away. The average professing Christian in America gives about 2.4% of his or her annual income to his or her church, which means many give away less. And that means that many professing Christians give less money to their church than they pay in interest on all the money they ve borrowed to buy things they can t afford. But what joy there is for those followers of Christ who understand the words of Jesus, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. When the child of God grasps the reality that all money is God s money and we are his stewards, he will work hard to make more money than he needs and control his spending to live within his means, so he can share more money with those in need. And missionaries need money. The Great Commission has always been expensive. From the first century until now, the cost of training, sending, and maintaining missionaries is immeasurable. But that s how the gospel came to you. If you are a child of God today, it s because you heard the gospel. You heard it because someone shared it with you. They shared it because, along the way, missionaries were sent. They were sent by hard working church members who daily labored in the marketplace, made more money than they needed, spent less money than they made, and gave as much money as they could to advance the gospel and fulfill the Great Commission. That s why I say a missions conference is a stockholder meeting for Jesus followers. Among other things, its an opportunity to check on our investment. And I can t think of a better investment than the missionaries of First Bible Church. In heaven ten thousand years from now, long after our cars and homes and smartphones and investment portfolios have rotted, rusted, or burned, we will worship side by side with people who came to Christ through missionaries from our church. See you at the Missions Conference (aka, Stockholder Meeting), March 3 5! FBC Newsletter 3 March 2017
Update of Chosen Children Ministry Since Orphan Sunday in November there has been a lot of activity with the adoptive and foster families at First Bible Church. All of our foster families have had placements of children and some have had multiple placements. We are thankful to our church family that has provided meals during these times. Chosen Children has been able to provide our foster families with many of their needs during the time of placement and also has been able to give each of our foster families $150 gift cards. One of the most exciting things that has been going on is Clint and Ahbra Northcutt s renovation of the old Boys Ranch in Danville. They are now calling it the Circle Ranch. The purpose of the Circle Ranch will be to provide a retreat for foster families, a safe place for displaced children, respite and emergency care to children who are in need of a safe place to live. The Circle Ranch will be used as an outreach ministry to provide care and support to families and individuals who dedicate their lives to helping and serving children in crisis situations. Eventually through the help of our community, the Ranch will be a place for the littlest of our neighbors. Children who need a place to feel safe and loved. A place for everyone to come be the feet of Jesus for these precious people who need to know love and security if only for a short time. Clint and Ahbra plan to move to the Ranch by April 1st. After that they will take about 3 years to complete renovation of the property. While they are working on the property they will open it up to serve foster families through retreat and support. Tax deductible donations can be made through the Neighborhood Christian Center with The Ranch in the memo line. Groups and individuals can email Ahbra to schedule a work day to come out and help. ahbrajoy@hotmail.com FBC Newsletter 4 March 2017
Common Thread normally meets the first Friday of each month. In light of the Missions Conference, we will instead meet on Friday, March 10th from 9:30am-11:00am in the coffee commons of the Decatur Campus. Bring your own project to work on, receive help with, or show off. The next Bible Journaling class will be Wednesday, March 8th, 5:30-6:30pm in Room 202 at the Decatur Campus. Our verse for this meeting is Hebrews 12:29; we will be depicting God as a consuming fire. If you are completely new to journaling, please feel free to join us at 5:00pm for a beginners class. We provide all the supplies to get started. If you have any questions, feel free to email Kelly Cimino (kelly@cimino.org). The Decatur Campus Kitchen Cleaning Team will be meeting the first Tuesday of the month at 9:15am. We conduct routine cleaning as well as tackle various projects in the industrial kitchen. March s cleaning session will be March 7th. Forged Prayer Meets every Wednesday night 6-7 at Madison Church office. This is a great time of sweet fellowship with other FBC Ladies while praying for our church and for one another. (No Forged Prayer March 15) Fun Fellowship Night with the Sisters! Saturday, March 11 at 6:00. Come get to know and have fun with your Madison Sisters! Food will be provided. Games and fellowship! Home of Tammy Loyd. 27145 Seven Pines Lane, Harvest, AL 35749 Heritage Assisted Living Saturday, March 25 10:00-12. What a rewarding opportunity to minister to the elderly in our community! Meet at Heritage Assisted Living at 11682 County Line Rd, Madison, AL 35756 at 10:00 am. Scheduled activities will be in place. Children are welcome! Women s Fellowship Breakfast Sunday, March 27 9:30-10:30 Come join us for breakfast and fellowship! This is a perfect opportunity to get to know other ladies at FBC Madison while having child care provided! (Meeting place FBC at James Clemons room TBD) FBC Newsletter 5 March 2017
News continues FIRST BIBLE DIRECTORS OF STUDENT MINISTRY MAR 2017 DISCIPLESHIP COORDINATOR TWITTER & INSTAGRAM WEEKLY SCHEDULE @firstbiblesm FACEBOOK PAGE First Bible Student Ministry MATT DUBACH ABBI CAMBRON Join us Sunday mornings during first hour for community groups. We will continue our Redemptive History series in which we will go through the entire Bible this year! 9:15-10:30AM 5:15-6:30 PM 6:00-6:45 PM Join us on Wednesday nights as we continue through our Commissioned series. These lessons are designed to equip our students with different tools to share the gospel. 6:45-7:15 PM 7:15-8:00PM MARCH EVENTS Don't miss out on our March Madness Social! Join us on Thursday, March 16th at the church to watch the opening night of the March Madness tournament. 1 5,12,19,26 Our summer camp dates are set! We are doing a "50 Days 50 Dollars" promotion for high school camp. Sign up by April 12th to get $50 off the cost of Snowbird. 8,22 12,19,26 16 FBC Newsletter JEREMY GILBERT 6 March 2017
News continues FBC Newsletter 7 March 2017
March Deacons of the Month Decatur Campus 6:30 am at the church Madison Campus 6:30 am at FBC Office, 20 Main St. Madison Sympathy Pray for the following families: Susan Mayes (her brother, David Paterson) Mar 1 Mar 2 Mar 3 Mar 3-5 Mar 6 Mar 9 Mar 10 Mar 10 Mar 12 Mar 12 Mar 14 Mar 20 Mar 24 Ash Wednesday Soup for Souls World Day of Prayer Missions Conference Outreach Committee Mtg. 5:30 pm Mission Committee Mtg 5:30 p MOPS 9:00 am Common Thread 9:30 am Daylight Saving Time Begins Deacons Meet 3:00 pm Elders Meet 5:30 pm 1sr Day of Spring MOPS 9:00 am Keith Livingston Decatur Campus Jess Montegudo (his wife, Janet Montegudo) Sherry Jones (aunt, Robbie Powell) Sara Pate (her father, Fred Bailey) New Additions Emory Jane Emmie Hull February 7, 2017 Parents Mark and Pam Hull Caleb Christopher Gale February 16, 2017 Parents Mark and Nicole Gale. Jeremy MacMurray Madison Campus Sign up now for the next session beginning April 23. Discover FBC is the next step for anyone interested in learning more about First Bible Church. This four-week class will help you better understand the beliefs, philosophy, and direction of our church, as well as meeting others in the same process. Sundays, April 23rd - May 14th Sign up on line or for more information contact Earlene Baker at earl@fbc.org. FBC Newsletter 8 March 2017