E-Letter
March 2008
News and information about the Santa Fe River Baptist Association—and more
Prepared by Wayne Harvey, Director of Missions
Coming Events in Our Association
Association Semi-Annual Meeting
Monday, Mar. 17; 6:30 PM dinner; 7:15 meeting; First Church, Waldo (Map)
Dinner: 6:30 PM; Meeting: 7:15 PM
Theme: Reaching the World for Christ at Home
Speakers: Herman Rios, language consultant, Fla. Baptist Conv.
Jerre Brannen, member, North Central Church, and teacher, International Learning Center
Ralph Daniels, member, First Church, Waldo, and teacher, International Learning Center
Anticipated business:
1. Elect committee directors and members
2. Vote on making The Journey Church of Newberry a member church in the association
Church Achievement Awards will be given to those churches that have excelled in the following categories during 2006-07:
- Greatest number of baptisms
- Best baptism-resident-church-member ratio
- Greatest percentage of undesignated receipts given to the association
- Greatest increase in percentage of undesignated receipts given to the association over the previous year
- Greatest percentage increase in Bible study attendance over the previous year
Note: Only messengers elected by their churches may vote in the business session but everyone is welcome to attend. A church may register its messengers by sending in their registration sheet or calling the association office. Messengers not pre-registered must bring printed verification of their election. |
Beware in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do.
... Andrew Murray (1828-1917)
International Learning Center News
From Mary Lynne Moore, Director
Visit the ILC web site
- In January, over 30 new students enrolled in the ILC. There are now 125 students from 21 countries enrolled.
- Grace Church provided birthday cupcakes for students and Pastor Jim Riley led the devotional for all students recently.
- A former ILC student advertised the ILC on the University of Florida Korean web site recently. The web ad received over 70 hits in the first week.
- Recently a Korean student enrolled in the ILC. When asked how he had learned about the ILC, he replied, “This is a famous school. It is recommended by the University International Department. Everyone from Korea knows about this school."
- In October 2007, a former student accepted a job as a pharmacist in Ocala. Recently he came by the school to thank us and his teacher for helping him to speak English. He stated that the state pharmacy qualification written exams were easy in English but the key to getting the job was in his ability to speak English, something his ILC teacher had helped him do. He persuaded his employer by telephone to hire him. (The telephone is the hardest means for an international to be understood by Americans.)
- Our churches with ESL classes and other programs ministering to internationals:
- Oak Park
- Westside
- Evangelica
- Hispana Santa Fe
- North Central
- North Pleasant Grove
- If your church is ministering to internationals and is not listed here, please let us know about your ministry
English-As-a-Second-Language Training
Come and discover if God is calling you to work with internationals. Then register for ESL training (English-As-a-Second-Language). You will be doing international ministry and sleeping in your own bed at night!
When: March 13, 14, 15
Thur. and Fri. evening, 6:30-9:30 PM; Sat., 9 AM-4 PM
Location: Westside Church, 10000 West Newberry Road
Instructor: Cathy Lentz, ESL trainer, Jacksonville (Cathy is the director of literacy ministry for the Fla. Bapt. Conv.)
Cost: $20
For more information or to register, call the association center, 352.373.5030.
ILC Need! Child-care workers—our children need you. Monday and Wednesday, 9 AM-11:30 AM. Call Director, Mary Lynne Moore, at the association center, 352.373.5030. |
Community Ministry News
Vicki Lawrence, Church and Community Ministries Director
- A church in our association has "adopted" a family from a local mobile home park. This family has physical, financial, and spiritual needs.
- We are collecting laundry detergent for a local homeless shelter.
- Some churches are providing school supplies to local schools.
- A new ministry at a local nursing home may begin in February.
- We will be collecting hygiene kits for a local abuse shelter.
- A church G.A. group will be donating food items to the food ministry at Fellowship Church with "Jesus Loves You" labels on them.
Wherever souls are being tried and ripened, in whatever commonplace and homely way, there God is hewing out the pillars for his temple.
... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), "The Pillar in God's Temple," from The Candle of the Lord
Association Calendar for March
1 |
Prayer Council Meeting, Ridgeview Church, 10 AM |
2-9 |
Season of Prayer for North American Missions/ Annie Armstrong |
3-4 |
State Evangelism Conference, Orlando First |
9 |
Daylight Saving Time begins |
10-14 |
Spring break, UF, SFCC and the ILC |
13-15 |
English-As-a-Second-Language Training for prospective teachers |
16 |
Palm Sunday |
17 |
Semi-Annual Meeting, Waldo First, 6:30 meal, 7:15 meeting |
20 |
First day of Spring |
21 |
Good Friday, Association Center closed |
23 |
Easter |
The "Annie" of the Offering
Visit the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering web site daily for prayer requests from the field.
March 2-9 is the Week of Prayer for North American Missions and the period when Southern Baptist churches give to the annual Annie Armstrong Offering.
Each year, we honor the life and work of Annie Walker Armstrong when we give to the annual offering for North American missions named after her. As a tireless servant of God and a contagious advocate and supporter of mission efforts throughout the world, Annie Armstrong led women to unite in mission endeavors that ultimately led to the formation of Woman's Missionary Union, for which she served as the first corresponding secretary.
Annie believed in Christ with all her heart, but it was her hands that expressed that belief in tangible ways. She spent a great amount of time typing and handwriting letters in support of missions. Many of these letters were quite lengthy and all were filled with conviction that more could and should be done in our mission efforts. In 1893 alone, she wrote almost 18,000 letters! Annie also never hesitated to use her hands to reach out to hug a child or distribute food and clothing and the Word of God to those in need. Her hands held her own Bible as she studied to know how best to share God's love with others. And, most important, Annie was a woman of prayer, folding her hands in prayer to intercede for the missionaries and for those they were helping discover Christ.
Annie rallied churches to give more, pray more, and do more for reaching people for Christ. As we continue to unite to make her vision a reality in North America today, we can be confident that her legacy will also be ours.
"Help!"
"Sorry! 'monmywaytochurch."
The deepest sins are camouflaged as holiness.
... Kenneth L. Pike (1912-2001)
FOCNCF News
The Friends of Children of North Central Florida organization has been dedicated to raising awareness and funds for a local campus of the Florida Baptist Children's Homes in our area. For the past six years, the FOCNCF has received and sent to the FBCH $1.2 million for this project. In addition, they have provided full funding during this period for the local FBCH social worker’s office, an amount over $250,000. For more information about the local campus project, visit focncf.org.
- The FOCNCF has a new board member: Jess Burton, pastor of the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Citrus Springs in the Marion Association.
- The future campus property was surveyed recently and will be appraised soon.
- What are the children like on FBCH campuses? They’re “normal” children but with parents who are unable to care for them temporarily for a variety of reasons. The goal of the FBCH is to reunite parents and their children within two years if it is deemed best for the child, a goal that the Homes usually meets or exceeds. The Homes provides counseling and other assistance for parents to help them prepare for welcoming their children back home. The Homes provides children with all basic necessities, a safe place and exposure to the gospel—an invaluable service to these children for all eternity! Most of the children served by the Florida Baptist Children's Homes come to know the Lord as a result of faithful service of child care workers and foster parents and through exposure to churches that help us in sharing the gospel with these children. Join us as we seek to pray and support the Homes as we grow in Gainesville and the surrounding areas.
- Currently Michelle Everson, the local social worker for the FBCH, is in the process of licensing six sets of prospective foster parents, helping three mothers of newborns place their babies with adoptive parents, and working toward the approval of five sets of adoptive parents. She has received four calls in the past few months from individuals and child care agencies, asking for local resident care beyond what foster parents can provide. The need for local care, which our local campus will provide, continues to grow. She receives about two calls a week from people seeking foster care for newborns.
- Volunteers are needed to assist in office management and clerical work at flexible times throughout the week. While the hours would be set by your schedule during the week, applicants should be well versed in Microsoft Word, able to navigate the Internet easily and be comfortable using email. Applicants should be comfortable with basic office tasks such as filing, phone service, and correspondence. All volunteers are asked to complete background checks and various confidentiality requirements. Please call the office at 352-377-2517 or email Michelle Everson at meverson@fbchomes.org.
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Theirs is an endless road, a hopeless maze, who seek for goods before they seek for God.
... St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), On the Love of God
The Watchmaker
An interesting video showing how the universe came to be.
Click the graphic above to see the movie trailer.
New Movie Exposes “Big Science”
There is a movement on the horizon that has the potential to change the educational system in America and influence your kids, you, and the youth you serve.
For decades now, Neo-Darwinism has maintained a stranglehold within public education, suppressing all other theories on the origins of life - especially those that hint of a "designer."
Oxford professor Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and author of The God Delusion states,
"Certainly I see the scientific view of the world as incompatible with religion."
Students are being bombarded with such propaganda throughout their education; despite the fact that MOST Americans do NOT believe we're the result of "random chance."
Well, FINALLY help is on the way.
EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed, is an upcoming feature film in which host Ben Stein goes on a quest to expose the suppression by science's anti-theist elite and unveil new scientific facts that may suggest evidence of intelligent design in the universe. |
Church News
Journey Church to Be Voted on at Semi-Annual Meeting
The church was started last May with Mike O'Carroll as pastor. About 150 members worship weekly at Rustic Manor near Jonesville. Mike has had a great deal of experience in church work as a church planter, missionary with the International Mission Board, former staff member at Westside Church, Gainesville, and former pastor at First Church, Newberry, among other positions. The church has been active in supporting missions with regular contributions to the Cooperative Program and our association.
The Journey Church is also sponsoring a Hispanic church in Newberry and a missions project in South Africa. The special emphasis for this quarter at The Journey Church is "YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND," which includes an evangelism conference at which the members are being trained to be life-long soul-winners, a direct mail piece, and a new billboard along Newberry Road at the entrance of the town of Newberry. |
The O'Carroll Family
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New Hispanic Church
Aldo Mesa, former pastor of Iglesia Bautista Evangelica, Gainesville, and minister to migrants in Mayo, Fla., with the Fla. Bapt. Conv., led the first worship service of his new church, Iglesia Hispana Gainesville, last Sunday with about 70 people present. Ridgeview Church, Gainesville, has graciously agreed to let the new church use their facilities for worship, Bible study, and an office. Ridgeview’s pastor, Bill Davenport, and Aldo have worked closely during the past few weeks arranging for this new relationship. The Fla. Baptist Conv. has approved Aldo for financial assistance as a church planter and our association Missions Committee is considering provision of match financial assistance. To learn more about the church, visit their web site: iglesiahispanagainesville.org.
Gainesville First Church Breaks Ground
The church held a ground-breaking ceremony on their property at the corner of SR 241 and 39th Ave. NW recently. John Fairless is pastor.
Our churches without pastors:
Eliam, Island Grove, New Hope, Pine Grove, Mt. Carmel, and Santa Fe are without pastors.
Part-Time Youth Worker Needed
For a newly-formed youth group at the North Pleasant Grove Church. Call Pastor Gardner at 352.317.2209.
Receptionist/Facilities and 55+ Ministry Assistant Needed
Westside Church is in need of a full time person who is proficient in a multi-line telephone console. Must also be proficient in Microsoft Word and Publisher. Resumes accepted through March 7. Send cover letter and resume to bkirby@westsidebaptist.org.
Ministry Assistant Needed at High Springs First Church
If interested, call the church office: 386.454.1505.
Music Leaders Needed
Pine Grove Church is in need of a music leader. Please call the church office for more information, 352.376.4052.
Antioch Church, on SR 121 south of La Crosse, needs a part-time music/youth director and a pianist. For more information, call the church at 386.462.2768.
Legacy Church, Alachua, needs a music leader and a pianist. If you know someone who is qualified and interested, ask him or her to call the pastor, John Jernigan, at 386.454.5529 or email him: trulyamazed@msn.com.
Lake Forest Church is searching for a volunteer youth and worship leader. If qualified and interested, contact Pastor Don Farley at 352.378.1100 or don@dbfarley.com.
Director of Children and Families Needed
Parkview Church is in need of a director of children and families. This is a part-time position. MDiv. or MEd. and experience with children and family ministry preferred. Please send resume to Search Committee, Parkview Church, dharlow@ufl.edu.
WINGS (Women In Necessary God's Stuff)
Waldo First will present Joani Tabor, gospel singer and speaker, back by popular demand.
Saturday, March 15
8:30 AM-2:30 PM
Cost: $15 per ticket (This includes, breakfast, lunch, and drinks)
For more information, call the church office, 352.468.1721.
Northwest Church Invites You to Their Easter Egg Mega Hunt
Saturday, March 22
10:00 AM-1:00 PM
Come and join us for a fun filled time of food, games, activities, and egg hunts.
1:00 PM-MEGA HUNT (for all ages) 2000 + eggs
For more information, call 352-377-5076.
Get Ready for Vacation Bible School
Theme: Living God's Unshakeable Truths
Wave 3 Truth: Jesus Is the Only Way
When wave riders ask, "The only way for what?" they are exactly where they need to be for this day's Bible study. The study of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection provide the foundation to explain that Jesus is the only way to become a Christian.
Wave 4 Truth: The Bible Is God's Word
The basis for truth is found in the Bible. As wave riders come to know that the Bible is God's Word they can believe that what it says is true.
Training for all VBS workers
When: Thursday, April 24
Where: Forest Grove Church, 22575 NW 94th Avenue, Alachua (Map)
Time: 6:00 PM (meal), 7:00 PM (training)
Grab your surf board and join us for a fun night of VBS training!
If your enemies throw rocks, build a monument.
Beware! Scam callers preying on churches’ compassion
Lenten Recital Series Remaining performances begin at 12:15 p.m. and will conclude by 12:50 p.m. They will be held at the following locations:
March 11 at First Presbyterian Church, Gainesville
March 18 at First United Methodist Church, Gainesville
African-American Churches Growing in Number
Jay Wells is leading LifeWay to better serve African-American churches, in part by strengthening longstanding relationships with pastors and church staff members and by developing ties to new church leadership. Currently, there are 3,700 African-American churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, and that number is growing. In addition, there are approximately 40, 000 African-American churches across the nation that are in some way touched by LifeWay!
LifeWay’s Jay Wells To Direct Expanded Ministry to Black Churches
LifeWay Christian Resources has tapped Jay Wells, a pastoral ministries veteran of more than 7 years, to direct its newly expanded ministry to black churches, the Southern Baptist entity announced today.
Wells, 61, will lead LifeWay in better serving black churches, in part by strengthening long-standing relationships with pastors and church staff members and by developing ties to new church leadership. Currently, there are 3,700 black churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, and that number is growing. |
Fewer forced terminations in SBC churches—maybe. Forced terminations in the Southern Baptist Convention were down during 2006. The Southern Baptist Church-Minister Relations Association found 680 full-time and bi-vocational pastors were forced out of their positions in 2006, plus 265 staff members. While the total of 945 is 27 percent lower than the 1,302 reported for 2005, Barney Self, a former pastoral counselor with LifeWay Christian Resources who conducted the survey, pointed out the report lacked input from four state conventions. The omissions mean the actual number of terminations may have been closer to 1,100, he noted. According to the survey, control issues were the top reason for staff dismissals—the same reason that has topped the surveys since they were initiated in 1996.
SBC conducts online survey about youth
* You have hunches about what your teenagers believe, but do you know for sure?
* You hear stories about some of your youth families, but do you really know how they live behind closed doors?
* You're afraid some of your teenagers might be experimenting with some things, but do you know how many?
Teenagers, their parents, student ministry volunteers and youth ministers in Southern Baptist churches are eligible to participate in an online survey through April 13. Church registration for the survey, at www.sbcstudents.com/annualsurvey, runs through the end of March. After the survey closes, each participating church will be able to download a full report April 15. It will show the responses of their congregation separated into groups without identifying specific individuals who took the survey. All individual input will remain confidential. Free online manuals will be made available to churches to guide them in conducting workshops that bring key parents, youth, and leaders to the table to set a new direction based on the information gathered from the survey.
MARCH |
Birthdays |
4 |
Pr. Edwin Gardner, North Pleasant Grove Church |
6 |
Pr. Sam Brown, Hague Church |
6 |
Daniel Morris (music director), Westside Church |
10 |
Kelly Redding (ministry assistant), High Springs First Church |
11 |
Al Hull (music director), Grace Church |
11 |
Kathy Beck (children’s director), Forest Grove Church |
12 |
Charles Ball (music director), Sardis Church |
17 |
David Redding (husband of ministry assistant), High Springs First Church |
17 |
Garth Patterson (church business), Westside |
23 |
John Marshall (husband of ministry assistant), High Springs First Church |
23 |
Sandra Killian (wife of pastor), Lighthouse Church |
25 |
Mary Lynne Moore (ILC Director), Alachua First Church |
28 |
Patsy Coleman (ministry assistant), Association Center |
30 |
Shannon Braddy (pianist), Forest Grove Church |
Wedding Anniversaries |
4 |
Wayne (DOM) and Joan Harvey, Association Center |
6 |
Brian (youth director) and Staci Shepherd, Lake Butler First Church |
9 |
Pr. John and Michelle Jernigan, Legacy Church |
10 |
Sammy (evangelism Leader) and Belinda Nelson, High Springs First Church |
11 |
Shawn and Sheryl (college leader) Bennett, Westside Church |
27 |
Pr. William and Jo-Ann Pruitt, Santa Fe Church |
28 |
David and Kelly (ministry assistant) Redding, High Springs First Church |
Ministry Anniversaries |
1 |
Mary Griffis (ministry assistant), Gainesville First Church, (2 years) |
15 |
Wayne Harvey, DOM, Association Center, (8 years) |
16 |
Tim Rose (youth director), Sardis Church, (2 years) |
22 |
Pr. Johnny Goodwin, Ochwilla Church, (7 years) |
30 |
Raul Hernandez (youth leader), Westside Church, (6 years) |
Is Oprah Okay?
God is the light in which I see.
Salvation is your happiest accomplishment. It is also the only one that has any meaning, because it is the only one that has any real use to you at all.
In order to see, you must recognize that light is within, not without. You do not see outside yourself, nor is the equipment for seeing outside you. An essential part of this equipment is the light that makes seeing possible. It is with you always, making vision possible in every circumstance.
Read "A Course in Miracles" for today
A Course in Miracles began Jan. 1 of this year on the XM radio program “Oprah and Friends.” It will continue all year in a lesson a day, presenting 365 lessons, teaching its students to rethink everything they believe about God and life. The course workbook states that "This is a course in mind training" and is dedicated to "thought reversal." Teaching A Course in Miracles will be Oprah's longtime friend and XM Satellite Radio reporter Marianne Williamson, a premier New Age leader.
For more information about the course, see Christian Information Ministries. After examining A Course in Miracles, I hope you agree with me that Oprah is not okay when it comes to teaching spiritual subjects. |
SBBMA NATIONAL CELEBRATION for Small Membership Church and Bi-vocational Pastors, Staff, Lay Leaders and Spouses
The Baptist College of Florida
April 18-19, 2008
(Co-sponsored by The Baptist College of Florida and the Discipleship and Family Department of the Florida Baptist Convention)
Church Contributions to the Association for the Month of January ‘08
Thank you!
Member Churches |
January ’08 |
Oct. ‘07 to present |
Alachua First |
.00 |
1,870.68 |
Antioch |
470.02 |
1,330.64 |
Centerpoint Christian |
.00 |
125.00 |
Country Crossroads |
54.00 |
268.00 |
Eastside |
.00 |
.00 |
Eden |
600.00 |
600.00 |
Eliam |
638.18 |
2,428.90 |
Evangelica |
.00 |
600.00 |
Faith-Tabernacle |
.00 |
.00 |
Fellowship |
1,135.43 |
2,385.62 |
Forest Grove |
.00 |
2,774.15 |
Gainesville First |
483.89 |
1,492.13 |
Grace |
448.91 |
1,142.46 |
Hague |
163.80 |
578.14 |
Hawthorne |
282.89 |
966.56 |
High Springs First |
2,121.87 |
7,235.71 |
Island Grove |
.00 |
.00 |
Korean |
.00 |
.00 |
Lake Butler First |
200.00 |
800.00 |
Lake Forest |
342.07 |
674.31 |
Lighthouse |
129.17 |
483.93 |
Mount Carmel |
.00 |
.00 |
New Hope |
.00 |
.00 |
North Central |
1,596.27 |
3,087.30 |
North Pleasant Grove |
177.78 |
628.66 |
Northwest |
598.45 |
1,970.66 |
Oak Park |
2,250.00 |
7,067.00 |
Ochwilla |
50.00 |
200.00 |
Parkview |
1,229.02 |
2,278.35 |
Pine Grove |
198.45 |
780.23 |
Pleasant Hill Missionary |
.00 |
25.00 |
Ridgeview |
443.40 |
1,168.31 |
River Cross |
236.00 |
701.00 |
Rivers of Life |
.00 |
100.00 |
Santa Fe |
173.40 |
620.26 |
Sardis |
651.04 |
2,637.77 |
Tower |
.00 |
.00 |
Waldo First |
.00 |
1,965.00 |
Westside |
1,646.49 |
12,128.88 |
Affiliated Churches |
|
|
Harvest |
1.27 |
96.15 |
Hispana, Archer Road |
.00 |
6.70 |
Hispana, Santa Fe |
.00 |
50.72 |
Legacy |
.00 |
450.00 |
Living Covenant |
211.92 |
593.10 |
Journey, Newberry |
133.69 |
604.54 |
|
|
|
Former Member Churches |
24.00 |
2,148.08 |
Totals |
$16,691.41 |
$65,063.94 |
Monthly Needs
$17,386.00 |
Budget Needs through
January
$69,544.00 |
Giving
under budget
through
January
$4,480.06 |
For Those Who Endured to the End
An efficiency expert was delivering a seminar on time management for a company's junior executives. He concluded the session with a disclaimer: "Don't attempt these task-organizing tips at home," he said.
"Why not?" he was asked.
"Well, I did a study of my wife's routine of fixing breakfast," he replied, a little embarrassed. "I noticed she made a lot of trips between the refrigerator and the stove, the table and the cabinets, each time carrying only one item. So I asked her, 'Honey, I notice that you make a lot of trips back and forth carrying one item at a time. If you would try carrying several things at once you would be much more efficient.'"
He paused.
"Did that save time?" one of the executives asked.
"Actually, yes," the expert answered, "It used to take her twenty minutes to fix my breakfast. Now I get my own in seven minutes."
A Sign with a Double Meaning!
HANDY ENGINEERING CONVERSIONS
~ Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter: Eskimo Pi
~ 2000 pounds of Chinese soup: Won ton
~ 1 millionth of a mouthwash: 1 microscope
~ Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement: 1 bananosecond
~ Weight an evangelist carries with God: 1 billigram
~ Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour: Knot-furlong
~ 16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone: 1 Rod Serling
~ Half of a large intestine: 1 semicolon
~ 1000 aches: 1 megahurtz
~ Basic unit of laryngitis: 1 hoarsepower
~ Shortest distance between two jokes: A straight line (think about it for a moment)
~ 453.6 graham crackers: 1 pound cake
~ 1 million-million microphones: 1 megaphone
~ 1 million bicycles: 2 megacycles
~ 365.25 days: 1 unicycle
~ 2000 mockingbirds: 2 kilomockingbirds
~ 10 cards: 1 decacards
~ 1 kilogram of falling figs: 1 Fig Newton
~ 1000 grams of wet socks: 1 literhosen
~ 1 millionth of a fish: 1 microfiche
~ 1 trillion pins: 1 terrapin
~ 10 rations: 1 decoration
~ 100 rations: 1 C-ration
~ 2 monograms: 1 diagram
~ 8 nickels: 2 paradigms
~ 2.4 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at Yale University Hospital: 1 I.V. League
~ 100 Senators: Not 1 decision
The Perfect Gift for Your Pastor
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