The Clarion Volume 47 Issue 9 September 2018 Our mission is to Encourage, Equip and Engage our network of churches to share the love of Christ with our communities. Office Directory 1202 Virginia Ave Lynn Haven, FL 32444 (850) 785-3115 (800) 727-7707 Fax - (850) 763-9736 www.nwcbap.org Director of Missions Troy Varnum troy@nwcbap.org Ministry Assistant Phyllis Poland phyllisp@nwcbap.org VIM Coordinator Jennie London vim.nwcba@juno.com One More Child Senior Licensing Specialist Emily Fidler Emily.Fidler@fbchomes.org One More Child Licensing Specialist Michelle Freeman michelle.freeman@ fbchomes.org (850) 281-4446 Moderator Craig Hodges pastorcraig@eastbaybc.com (850) 871-3896 Seaport Ministry Ken Kraich seaportservant@gmail.com (251) 233-6221 84th Annual Meeting October 18, 2018 5:00 p.m. / 6:00 p.m. / 7:00 p.m. First Session / Dinner / Second Session (Central Time) New Bethel Missionary Baptist 1942 E. 7th Street Panama City, FL 32401 Guest Speaker: Tim Maynard Pastor, Fruit Cove Baptist Church Jacksonville, FL Music led by New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church Each church shall be entitled to send a Pastor and three other Messengers for the first 100 members and one additional Messenger for each 50 additional members, or the major fraction thereof, provided no church shall be entitled to more than 10 Messengers from each church. All Messengers and alternates are to be certified by the local church. Please RSVP to 785-3115 by October 11, 2018 if you plan to attend the Dinner.
Affirming the Positive Do you ever suffer from the in betweens? It s the condition of having left where you were in terms of purpose and vision but not having landed at your destination? That s where I am these days. I understand the concept of "en route and enjoying the journey, but there is a reasonable expectation that as you transition from where you have been, you will be able to see your vision materialize. I m not talking about The Missions Center, although there is a metaphor that exists in our renovation. At times it is hard to see what it is becoming, and at points along the way it is hard to remember why we have done what we have done. Yet as the dust begins to clear it all comes back. There is a vision forming, it just isn t happening fast enough for me. If you hunger for structure in your life, then renovation is an uncomfortable phase for you. It involves destruction which can quickly dovetail to chaos. But God seems to do His best work with chaos. Look at creation, the ups and downs of Israel, the lives of so many Biblical heroes, etc. And yet I m talking about not just our construction, but our collective journey as 50 church-type connections with God s Kingdom initiative. We have tried to move from a preference centered approach to a purpose driven approach in defining our mission as encouraging, equipping, and engaging our network of churches to share the love of Christ with our communities. I think now is the time to reassess our steps in that journey so we can recognize more of our intended destination. I think several things have been on target, i.e., peer group emphasis, community engagement via connections with foster home initiatives, seaport ministry, disaster relief efforts, school partnerships, etc. I do think we need to reassess how we provide equipping to our churches, focus more on using facilitators within our strongest churches, build more affinity connections, and provide more concrete resources for our plateaued and declining churches. As I think about these points, I am finding that the gap that lies between where we were and where we are going to appear smaller than I thought. A major impetus for this conversation with you is my annual prayer retreat. This is where I gain complete control over my schedule and hand it over to the Lord (novel concept). I know that should be the norm, but you know that is seldom the reality with your own endeavors. That's why we need to follow Jesus model (i.e., Luke 5:16). This is the time I reassess what God desires from me and our organization. This is where I sense more clearly the answers to the questions: what do we need to start, what do we need to continue, and what do we need to stop? The answers are already beginning to reach my heart, but I need you in a similar prayer process. I need your involvement re: these questions and your feedback. Let s share together the good work of seeing our vision for the association bear fruit. In Christ, Troy
VOLUNTEER IN MISSIONS JENNIE LONDON Volunteer Mission Vision Our Northwest Coast Shower Unit Served during August to support a Youth Event at City Church at Northside. This was the last scheduled deployment for this summer. Many thanks to all the Volunteers, who made it possible for our Shower Unit to assist our churches and their ministries. Florida Baptist Disaster Relief So far, this year s hurricane season has been very calm and we pray it will continue to be so. But, there have been some serious natural disasters in other states. As this is being written, there are a few Clean Up & Recovery teams from Florida which are assisting people impacted by the floods in Pennsylvania. Each of these teams includes at least one chaplain and one or two people to prepare food for the team, using the kitchen of the church in which they are being housed. Praise the Lord for all of these. Pennsylvania sent a large feeding unit and volunteers to assist our state last fall, after Hurricane Irma. So, we are now helping them. The Baptist Center Volunteers are needed to assist each Tuesday morning in the clothing room. Volunteers will also be needed for the Fall Give Away Day, Thursday, October 18. In the event of rain, it will be rescheduled for the next Thursday, the 25 th. For more information, please phone Ms. Patty Brown or Ms. Lewellyn Denmark at 850-763-8892. Maguire State Mission Offering This offering is dedicated to funding new initiatives in South Florida, in partnership with our North American Mission Board. More than 1/3 of our states population resides in three of the southern counties: Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, where 95% of the population is unchurched. And, 75% of our states total population or, about 15 million people, are believed to not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The state goal for this offering is $830,000 and, every penny received will go toward church planting, church revitalization and church restarting in South Florida. Please pray about how you and your church might be able to minister within our state PRAY GIVE GO. You may contact either our Florida Baptist State Convention or the North American Mission Board for more information on how your own church can get involved, whether it s raising up teams from within your own congregation or coming alongside an existing plant. In HIS Service Jennie 850-763-8258 or vim.nwca@juno.com
There are so many exciting things going on right now it is hard to know where to start! Emerald Coast Fellowship recently hosted a Foster Care Awareness Sunday and One More Child was able to set up a table full of information. We are already seeing great fruit from that day! We just had to request a bigger room for our next Orientation because we have so families signed up for it! What an awesome problem to have! We received a donation of Bibles, backpacks, and brand new pajamas from Woodstock Church. We are so appreciative of those items! First Baptist Wewa donated a ton of baby food! We truly couldn t even count it all, so we re calling it a ton! It has been such a blessing to our foster families. This baby food also opened ministry doors to share with other local agencies and connect with them as well. We are still celebrating the help we received from First Baptist Houston. Not only did they sort clothes for us, but they also purchased additional storage containers for the clothes. Such a blessing! Last week we had the opportunity to recognize Hometown Heroes at the Quality Parenting Initiative Luncheon hosted by and held at the Big Bend Community Based Care Office. We recognize Thomas and Chelsea Gamble for their new ministry Project 127. This ministry is a part of St. Andrew s Baptist and was created to support local foster families and help recruit new families. We also recognized Patty Glover, a local photographer, and Santa! Patty joined up with Santa from the mall last year at Christmas time to provide photos with Santa. They went above and beyond having a friend decorate their home for Christmas and they served homemade cookies and milk. Patty had also collected toys for the children for Santa to give to them. It was a magical day! We are so thankful and proud of our Hometown Heroes! Here are some of the things that are coming up: On Tuesday, 8/28 from 6-7 we will have an information meeting from 6-7 at St. Andrew s Baptist Church. We already have 14 families signed up! We hope if you have questions and want to know more about foster care that you will join us! Our next class will start Monday, 9/10 at Emerald Coast Fellowship. It will be every Monday after that for 7 weeks and will go from 6-9. It s Diaper Drive time again! Starting Labor Day weekend and concluding on Orphan Sunday, 11/11 we will be collecting diapers! If you or someone at your church is interested in coordinating a diaper drive at your church please let us know! You can reach out to one of us, or you can sign up online at our website www.onemorechild.org. Our statewide goal is 800,000 diapers! Wouldn t it be awesome if we could meet that goal just in the Panhandle? We have a great need for size 4 and 5 diapers and will accept them any time we can get them! (As well as all of the sizes!) We continue to thank God for all of your support and prayers! And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ~Hebrews 10:24 Blessings, EMILY FIDLER & MICHELLE STRATTON-FREEMAN Licensing Specialist/Foster Care Worker O: 850.281.4446 F: 850.763.9736
Minister s Conference Schedule All minister s conferences are at 11:00 a.m. at the Missions Center, 1202 Virginia Ave, Lynn Haven. September 03 Office Closed - Labor Day 11 Executive Committee Meeting 17 Pregnancy Resource Center - Pati Adams, Director 24 Family and Friends Support Ministry - Al & Martha Harris, Most Excellent Way Check out our Web site at www.nwcbap.org Please verify your church information and let us know if corrections are needed. If you have a new staff member, please send us the name, staff position, beginning start date, birthday (no year needed), and if married, spouse name, anniversary date including the year.
WorldCrafts Fair Trade Shopping Event First Baptist Church of Panama City Family Life Center Drop in anytime from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Items available include jewelry, children s items, home décor, Christmas, etc. Handcrafted items available from more than 30 countries. Purchasing these items will assist women in escaping abuse and exploitation, provide job training for men, and aid families earn a fair income. Bring a friend and browse while you enjoy coffee, tea, water, and a snack. Select hand crafted items for yourself or start gift shopping early. Sponsored by First Baptist Church WMU WorldCrafts in a division of WMU
JUNE 2018 WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES 4 ( 99) Jason (Christi) Parker, Pastor-Rock Solid 4 ( 71) Tom (Sylvia) Daniel, Pastor-FBC, Lynn Haven 9 ( 94) Sionna (Allen) Courtney, Secretary-Emerald Coast 12 ( 87) Carol (Paul) Daniel, Outreach Secretary FBC, PC And the two shall become one STAFF ANNIVERSARIES 1 ( 98) Charles Scott, Pastor, Fellowship Baptist 1 ( 11) Mike Dunn, Pastor, Dalkeith Baptist 5 ( 13) Douglas Boucher, Pastor, FBC, Eastpoint 7 ( 04) Melanie Breman, Secy.-FBC, Wewahitchka 10 ( 95) David Nichols, Pastor, Beach Baptist Chapel 17 ( 17) Jon Gers, Student Pastor, Gulf Beach Baptist 26 ( 08) Sheila Murphy, Secretary-Springfield Baptist 29 ( 02) Roger Krans, Pastor-West Bay BIRTHDAYS 2 Rudie Guta, Assoc Pastor-Gulf Beach 8 Ryan Tucker, Minister to Students, Hiland Park 19 Gayle Hodges, Secretary-East Bay 21 Jennifer Brown, Ministry Assistant, FBC, Wewahitchka 24 Charles Key, Pastor-Cedar Grove 27 Sionna Courtney, Secretary-Emerald Coast 27 Knute Coleman, Pastor, Brannonville Baptist
Yum Yum - Disaster Relief Breakfast at Granny s APT - Association Planning Team PLG - Peer Leadership Group PEG - Peer Evangelism Group CPG - Church Planting Group BPG - Bi-Vocational Group - - - -
Yum Yum - Disaster Relief Breakfast at Granny s APT - Association Planning Team PLG - Peer Leadership Group PEG - Peer Evangelism Group CPG - Church Planting Group BPG - Bi-Vocational Group -
N w s C s B p s Ass c C b s by D A g s 28, 2018 G l Y D O Y D l Ap l c c l BC 2,080.53 2,080.53 B y G g BC 3.558.31 3.558.31 B c B p s C p l 1,020.00 1,020.00 B v ll B p s C c 564.00 319.00 883.00 C ll w y BC 3,776.81 3,776.81 C l sl B p s C c 4,386.19 4,386.19 C G v B p s C c 3,384.96 3,384.96 C s ll ws p P m C y B c 0.00 0.00 C y C c N s 400.00 400.00 C s B p s C c 3,143.22 3,143.22 C v B p s C c 1,480.00 1,480.00 D lk B p s C c 560.00 560.00 D p L k BC 1,992.33 398.73 2.391.06 E s B y B p s C c 350.00 350.00 E s p BC 771.26 771.26 Em l C s ll ws p 3,200.00 3,200.00 m ly f G B p s C c 5,689.00 5,689.00 ll ws p B p s C c 785.38 785.38, BC 300.00 300.00 G lf B c B p s C c 1,750.00 1,750.00 H g l V w B p s C c 2,124.67 2,124.67 H l P k B p s C c 6,000.00 6,000.00 H ly H ll B p s C c 900.00 900.00 H w C k B p s C c 863.97 863.97 Imm l B p s C c 3,603.45 3,603.45 K gsw B p s C c 406.81 406.81 L f bl B p s 56.25 56.25 L g Av B p s C c 3,000.00 3,000.00 Ly H v BC 5,009.37 5,009.37 x c B c, BC 0.00 0.00 N w B l ss y B p s 2,450.00 2,450.00 N w w y B p s C c 915.32 150.00 1,065.32 O k G v.b. C c 0.00 0.00 P m C y BC 14,500.00 14.500.00 P J BC 6,796.79 90.00 5,933.50 P m Igl s B s P m C y 0.00 0.00 R ck l 0.00 0.00 H lls B p s C c 1,649.03 350.00 1,999.03 p BC 0.00 0.00 p gf l B p s C c 1,443.52 401.92 1845.44. A w B p s C c 10,219.59 10,219.59 ys BC 1,217.31 260.00 1,477.10 mpl B p s C c 3,596.64 3,596.64 s B y B p s C c 1,052.48 1,052.48 s s B p s C c 938.34 938.34 w c k, BC 1,006.91 1,006.91 C y, BC 436.78 436.78 s ck, PCB 264.00 264.00 O AL $107,643.22 $1,969.65 $109,612.87