FALL FESTIVAL COMMUNITY OUTREACH - JANET PORTER An opportunity to serve It is time, again, for a good, old-fashioned Harvest Hoedown! On Saturday, October 29 th, from 11 AM 2 PM, we will be treating our community to some fall fun. We need your help! Many hands are required to serve our community through this event. Here are some of the places you could serve: Individually wrapped candy donations Decorate your trunk and pass out candy Help set up and / or clean up Help people get registered and greet them as they arrive Supervise a carnival-type game or bounce house Serve food and drinks If you would like to help with this big event, please contact Janet Porter at the church office or email janetporter@sandyplains.org. YOUNG IN HEART Young In Heart met on September 15th with 31 members and 1 guest present. There was a presentation on Medicare and Social Security. Our next function will be the annual Apple Trip on Tuesday, October 18th. The bus will leave at 9:00 AM and return between 5-6 PM. We will stop at Chick-Fil-A for breakfast and lunch in Blairsville. For reservations, call Joe Ballew at 770-420-8898. MISSIONS Mission Moments: To quote Francis Chan, Make every day a mission trip. When we decide to be a disciple of Christ our lives are opened up to opportunities that we never expected or knew existed. So the question we must first ask ourselves is Am I being a disciple or am I just doing what a disciple does? Doing good does not make you a follower of Christ, knowing what it means to BE a disciple and then obeying leads to doing what is expected of a child of God. The joy of being on mission is that God is glorified and He gives us that immeasurable sense of awe! October is our month to focus on our community here and abroad: 1. Harvest Hoedown is Oct. 29 and candy, soft drinks, and your participation is needed to make this community outreach a success. 2. As you transition to Fall, consider donating your summer clothes to be sent to Honduras next May. Children s clothing, S-L ladies and men s clothing and shoes are needed. 3. Operation Christmas Child is coming up in November! Start filling those boxes now! Being a disciple is a daily joy and serving others brings its own reward. Galatians 5:13b but through love serve one another.
STUDENTS - Gary McEntire STUDENT DISCIPLESHIP FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Our students have been challenged over the past several weeks to commit to participating in a new discipleship program called LEVEL UP. Inspired from the world of video games, the program will be offered at three different levels: Novice This level is for those students who aren t ready to commit to a full blown discipleship program and all that it requires but who still want to participate in the student ministry. This group meets at 5:00 on Sundays as a part of our full Sunday night program that features intense teaching, discussion as well as games. Students at this level are encouraged to LEVEL UP their game and advance to the next level of discipleship. Intermediate This level is for middle school students as well as those high school students who want to engage in discipleship activities at an introductory level. This is an ideal place to start for those students who are new to the youth group or new to their faith. This group will participate in a daily study from a workbook called Essential Connection 90 Days of Devotions for Students. Both the Intermediate group and the Advanced group meet at 4:30 on Sundays to review and discuss their work for the week. Advanced This level is for those high school students who want to engage in discipleship activities at a higher level. This is an ideal place to start for those students who have been in the student ministry for a while and want to be really challenged in their spiritual growth. This group will participate in a daily study from a book called A Call to Die by David Nasser. Both the Intermediate group and the Advanced group meet at 4:30 on Sundays to review and discuss their work for the week. WINTER CONFERENCE FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS On December 27-29, our middle and high school students will be attending the Xtreme Winter Conference in Gatlinburg, TN. The cost is $125 / participant. This cost includes 2 nights of lodging. Musical acts will include: Skillet, Lecrae, Crowder, Tenth Avenue North, Newsong, and others. Speakers will include Tony Nolan, Tom Richter, Johnny Hunt and Clayton Jennings. All money and paperwork are due Sunday, November 6th. CHILDREN - Janet Porter God is so good! He is currently teaching me about becoming greater for His glory and has placed in my heart a strong desire to touch the lives of the families in our community. I love serving Him at Sandy Plains Baptist church. It s a true blessing to see the kids get excited on Wednesday nights about God s word or experience worship with them on Sunday morning in Kids Worship. I am so honored to walk alongside our families as they teach their children about the one lasting thing in this world, Jesus Christ!
PRAYER The USA has been blessed like no other nation except Judah which is the apple of God s eye as written in Zechariah 2:8. In the 60 s we began a cultural revolution. Turning away from God our nation has descended into calling good evil and evil good. The late Senator, Patrick Moynihan had described our society as defining deviancy down. In his proclamation in 1863, President, Lincoln stated We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which has preserved us in peace and multiplied, enriched and strengthened us. We have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all blessings were produced by our superior wisdom and virtue. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to fill the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God who made us. It behooves us to then humble ourselves before the Offended Power to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and virtue. History does repeat itself and the scripture is just as relevant today as when it was written. As we approach our national election, let us do so with prayerful hearts that we and our leaders will seek God s guidance in the affairs of our country, the preservation of religious liberty and the significance of Israel. The Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12:3 states I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. PRAY/VOTE "A Father's Book" What if your father wrote a book addressed to you and expressed his love for you and what you mean to him. Also, that you will inherit everything he possesses. Would you read it to show your love and respect for him? In the same way, our Heavenly Father has given us a book to read that tells us Who He is, how much He loves us, what He wants us to be and what He promises to give us. The question is, will we read it to show our love and respect for Almighty God our Heavenly Father? May I encourage you to start today by picking up the "book", God's Holy Word, and read at least two chapters a day starting with the very first page in your Bible. God gave us the Bible because He loves each one of us and the Bible is our sole connection with Him. I promise you, God will be pleased and you will be blessed in more ways than one by showing your love for Him by taking the time to read the Bible that was written for you! Wally Harris
NEWSLETTER October 2016 WEDNESDAY FELLOWSHIP DINNERS October Fellowship Dinner Menus: 10/5: Bacon, Eggs, Grits, Hashbrown Casserole, Biscuits and Gravy, Cinnamon Rolls 10/12: Ham, Broccoli & Rice Casserole w/ Cheese, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Yeast Rolls, Caesar Salad, Cherry Cobbler Kid s Choice: Hot Dogs, Macaroni and Cheese, Salad, Cherry Cobbler 10/19: Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes w/ White Gravy, Glazed Baby Carrots, Biscuits, Salad, Pineapple Upside Down Cake Kid s Choice: Sloppy Joes, Glazed Baby Carrots, Salad, Pineapple Upside Down Cake 10/26: White Chicken Enchiladas, Sweet Corn & Tomato Salad, Creamy Cilantro-Lime Slaw, Salad, Brownies Kid s Choice: Cheese or Beef Nachos, Salad, Brownies UP AND COMING 10/2 Leadership Meeting, 4pm (C18) 10/6 W.O.M.:Mission Seekers, 10:30am (C18) 10/9 Deacon s Meeting, 4pm (C18) 10/13 Caring and Sharing, 7pm (Melita Conrey s home) 10/16 Quarterly Church Conference, 5pm (WC) 10/18 Young In Heart Apple Trip 10/23 Heritage, 4pm 10/25 Senior Men s Meeting, 10am (FH) 10/29 Harvest Hoedown, 11am-2pm REGULAR WEEKLY SCHEDULE Sunday 9:30am Classic Worship 9:30am Bible Study 11:00am Modern Worship 11:00am KIDSWorship in Student Center 11:00am Bible Study 5:00pm Evening Activities 7:00pm Band Rehearsal (WC) Monday 6:00pm Tuesday 9:30am Wednesday 5:15pm 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm GriefShare (C14) Ladies Bible Study (C18) Fellowship Dinner (FH) AWANA (gym) Adult Bible Study (FH) Choir Rehearsal (WC) CHURCH STAFF Dr. Alvin Southerland Senior Pastor al@sandyplains.org Janet Porter Children s Director janetporter@sandyplains.org Nanci Maples Ministerial Assistant nanci@sandyplains.org Bryan Paine Worship Pastor bryan@sandyplains.org Terri Butler Preschool Director terri@sandyplains.org Janet Earnest Financial Assistant janet@sandyplains.org Gary McEntire Pastor to Students gary@sandyplains.org Dr. Don Mason Pastor to Senior Adults
NEWSLETTER October 2016 Volunteer Schedule October 2nd October 9th October 16th October 23rd October 30th Deacon of the Week Willie Terrell David Braswell Dick Porter Tom Freeman Roy Earnest Counting Team Terri Butler Melissa Lacy Ed England Bonnie Martin JoAnn Tucker Nan Maddox Linda Hodges Janice Ashley Annie Workman Linda Tharp Cindy Moore David Braswell Sandy Rudin Melita Conrey Lock-Up Roy Earnest Roy Earnest David Peterson David Peterson Roland Smith Willie Terrell Willie Terrell Roland Smith Roland Smith Larry Logan Security at 9:30am Wally Harris Lewis Casey Danny Ashley Ron Stone Wally Harris Earl Gossage Sam Hill Robert Moody Fran Florian Earl Gossage Security at 11:00am Roy Earnest Jim Caulk Larry Logan Wayne Cole Roy Earnest Roland Smith Mike Dean Tony Millsapp Roland Smith Traditional Service Ushers Team 3 Team 1 Team 2 Team 3 Team 1 Don Singletary David Braswell Chad Conrey Don Singletary David Braswell Lewis Casey Wayne Bartlett Danny Ashley Lewis Casey Wayne Bartlett Wayne Cole Bob Hayes Joe Ballew Wayne Cole Bob Hayes John Downer Jim Kennedy Earl Gossage John Downer Jim Kennedy Fran Florian John LaRue Robert Moody Fran Florian John LaRue Wally Harris Steve Stephens Ron Stone Wally Harris Steve Stephens Sam Hill Don Walker Sam Hill