December 2017 newsletter

CHURCH INFORMATION CHURCH STAFF Ross Shelton, Pastor

rshelton@fbc-brenham.org

Annette Guenther, Comptroller aguenther@fbc-brenham.org

Troy Sikes, Associate Pastor

tsikes@fbc-brenham.org

Donella Peevler, Church Receptionist

dpeevler@fbc-brenham.org

Charles Covin, Music Minister

ccovin@fbc-brenham.org

Jodi Beckendorf, Graphic Design jbeckendorf@fbc-brenham.org

Chad Marrs, Minister to Students

cmarrs@fbc-brenham.org

Stephanie Sheffield, Custodian Manager

ssheffield@fbc-brenham.org

Alex Morrison, Minister to Children

amorrison@fbc-brenham.org

Nancy Jahns, School Administrator

njahns@fbcsbrenham.org

Stacey Strickland, Preschool Ministry

sstrickland@fbc-brenham.org

Kristie Mendoza, Mother’s Day Out Dir.

mdo@fbc-brenham.org

Teresa McGlasson, Office Manager

tmcglasson@fbc-brenham.org

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS: Mon - Thurs: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Fri: 8:00 am - 3:00 pm.

Brenham’s First Baptist Church Contact Info: Ph: (979) 836-2807 Fax: (979) 830-0122 info@fbc-brenham.org Mailing address: PO Box 600, Brenham, TX 77834

LINKS TO CHECK OUT ONLINE CHURCH WEBSITE: www.fbc-brenham.org CHURCH FACEBOOK PAGE: www.facebook.com/BrenhamsFirstBaptistChurch SCHOOL FACEBOOK PAGE: www.facebook.com/Brenhamfbcs 2

I N THI S I SSUE:

Special Announcements...................................................page Church-wide Calendar .....................................................page From Pastor Ross ...............................................................page Music Ministry ....................................................................page Adult Ministries .................................................................page Bible Studies & More ........................................................page Encore Ministry ..................................................................page A Letter from Reba . ...........................................................page Student Ministry ................................................................page Children’s Ministry ............................................................page Preschool Ministry ............................................................page FBC School & EEC ..............................................................page From Troy’s Heart ..............................................................page

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

REMINDER - DECEMBER 24 & 31

NO SUNDAY SCHOOL; ONE WORSHIP SERVICE @ 10:00AM

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CHURCH-WIDE CALENDAR

DECEMBER-

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First Fruits Sunday - Both Services Lord’s Supper - Both Services Churchwide Business Meeting 4:00pm Gym FBCS - Spelling Bee 6:00pm Sanctuary Piece Makers 9:00am Student Center Men’s Prayer Breakfast 6:00am Sycamore House Ladies Bible Study Fellowship 9:30am Sycamore House Sweet Hour of Prayer 10:00am Sycamore House Christmas Choir Presentation 7:00pm Sanctuary Handbells Play at 8:30 Service Preschool Postal Service - Last Day to accept cards for delivery Men’s Prayer Breakfast 6:00am Sycamore House Ladies Bible Study Fellowship 9:30am Sycamore House FBCS- Preschool Christmas Program 10:00am Sanctuary Sweet Hour of Prayer 10:00am Sycamore House Men’s Prayer Breakfast 6:00am Sycamore House FBCS - Christmas Holidays Begin Sweet Hour of Prayer 10:00am Sycamore House Sunday Worship- Only One Service @ 10am (No Sunday School) Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 6:00pm Sanctuary Church Office Closed- Holiday No Wednesday Night Activities Sweet Hour of Prayer 10:00am Sycamore House Sunday Worship- Only One Service @ 10am (No Sunday School) World Hunger Offering For more information on any of the above events please visit the church website: www.fbc-brenham.org www.facebook.com/BrenhamsFirstBaptistChurch

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FROM PASTOR ROSS

“Grateful” and “humbled” are the words that express what I’ve felt throughout the launch of the Faith Building capital campaign to help us build the first phase of our relocation without debt. These words express what I’ve felt as I’ve watched countless volunteers plan, serve, and sacrifice their time during this season. They also express what I’ve experienced as I’ve seen people willing to commit and make financial sacrifices for the next three years. Ultimately, though, gratitude and humility are what I’ve felt towards the Lord as He’s been faithful to us throughout this process. One of the convictions I had when I became your pastor in 2013 was that God was not and is not done with First Baptist Church. I’ve experienced this in many ways during the past four plus years, and it has been confirmed throughout this capital campaign launch. My hope and prayer now and throughout these next three years is two-fold: (1) You will grow in experiencing God and His faithfulness, and (2) our community will be provided a testimony that God is real and faithful.

As we close out the year, please allow me to remind you about the importance of year-end giving to our general fund. Like most churches and non-profits, year-end giving is crucial to our financial health in helping us live out our mission “to lead people to be followers of Jesus Christ.” With our missing a Sunday because of Hurricane Harvey and a number of expenditures, year-end giving will be especially important this year. As a reminder, all year-end gifts mailed to the church office must be post-marked on or before December 31st. Our church office will be open until noon on Friday, December 29th to accept gifts. We also have a single worship service at 10:00 am on December 31st, and this is another opportunity to give. Every year since I’ve been here, I’ve watched the Lord provide for our church through year-end gifts. Therefore, “THANK YOU!” in advance for your year-end faithful giving. Because of your faithful giving, we are resourced to be the church God has called us to be! Thank you for the privilege of being your pastor. I am truly grateful and humbled.

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MUSIC MINISTRY

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ADULT MINISTRIES PIECE MAKERS Piece Makers use even the smallest pieces of fabric left over from completed projects. Pillows are made from donated upholstery fabric, fleece and corduroy, then stuffed with clean fabric scraps and become pet beds which are donated to Brenham Pet Adoption Center each month. The pet beds go home with adopted kittens and puppies and have been quite popular at the Pet Adoption Center.

During the December meeting a Soup and Salad Luncheon is planned for church staff, school office staff and representatives from New Beginnings Pregnancy Assistance Ministry to celebrate the Christmas season

Welcome New Church Members Edna Stewart Gordon and Judy Dutile First Impressions Parking Lot Greeting Team.

Each Sunday, We have greeters in the parking lots guiding people to a worship service or Sunday Bible Study. With bright yellow vests and friendly smiles, they will also be there to give you a helping hand with anything you need.

Presently we need more people on the Parking Lot Greeting Team and our Welcome Guest Greeter Team, if you would like to help us make a lasting impression by serving on our First Impressions Team.

Contact Troy at: tsikes@fbc-brenham.org or call the church office at 979-836-2807 if you are willing to serve as an Usher, Welcome Center Greeter or Parking Lot Greeter.

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BIBLE STUDIES & MORE

Men’s Prayer Breakfast Studying “The 10 Commandments” Wednesdays, 6:00am Sycamore House Sweet Hour of Prayer Thursdays, 10:00am Sycamore House Garage Pastor’s Bible Study “Pastor’s Bible Study & Prayer Time” Wednesdays, 6:30pm - Room 112 Ephesians: Faithful Followers at Full-Tilt!

Wednesdays, 6:30pm - Room 111

Ladies Bible Studies Resumes January 10th Ladies Bible Study Fellowship Class Studying the book of “Romans” Meets on Thursdays, 9:30- 11:30am, in the Sycamore House ***December 14th is the last meeting before the holidays and resumes January 11th.*** Precept Bible Study New Teacher: Kim Lytle Studying the book of “Galatians”.

Meets on Tuesdays 9:00am in the Pahl House; Begins 1/9/18

HOME TEAM GROUPS UPDATES!

Widows & Single Ladies – Various Topics.

Pahl House 1st & 3rd Monday 6:00pm.

Schroeder – “The Bait of Satan” by John Bevere 620 Country Place W. Dr. Meet on the 1st & 3rd Sunday at 5:00pm Atkins – Prayer and fellowship 9250 Lake Dr. Various times and subjects Houston/Antolin -”Romans” 808 Spinn St. - Every other Sunday at 5:30pm.

REMINDER - WEDNESDAY NIGHT ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE NO WEDNESDAY NIGHT ACTIVTIES ON DECEMBER 27TH & JANUARY 3RD. THESE ACTIVITIES WILL RESUME ON JANUARY 10TH. 8

ENCORE MINISTRY NEWS

CELEBRATE OUR BIRTHDAYS! Ted Low, IV Sherrie Foerster Dorothy Lesser Weldon Butler Barbara Klussmann Reba Pair Arlen Thielemann Johnnie Rutledge Debbie Patranella Martha Pittman Bob Young Callie Korth Maria Cadwallader Beth Taylor Matthew Reue David Moore Carrie Baker Jim Humphrey Debbie Yeager Marilyn Kleypas Doc Pair Rhonda Porter Charles Blank

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Jerry Norman Judy Whitaker Jerry Allen Sonny Dannhaus Edna Stewart Shirley Schulz Morris Fraley James Fritz Rebecca Presswood RL Mayeur Victor Brier, Jr Anne Beyer

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SYMPATHIES: -The Watson’s family in the loss of their son-in –law, J.R. Byrd.

-Ken Baker and family in the loss of his mom, Wanda Baker.

-Cheri Baker and family in the loss of her dad, Clyde Daniely.

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A LETTER FROM REBA As I sit down to write this tonight I think back to the year it has been in the news.

Turmoil, strife, anger. I could go on and on, but it breaks my heart to see our country in such a state right now. Then SCRIPTURE OF when Hurricane Harvey hit we began to THE MONTH: see a different thing happening in our state of Texas. As the days and weeks “FOR UNTO YOU IS BORN have gone by, we’ve seen more and more stories of people stepping up and THIS DAY…A SAVIOR WHO helping their neighbors with multitudes IS CHRIST THE LORD. of things. Evacuating, construction after LUKE 2:11” the destruction of homes, churches and businesses. We have shown our LOVE of Christ in very special ways. We have been the hands and feet of Jesus for our neighbors along the coast. I have heard stories on the news that those who were affected are not even thinking about decorating or having a tree for Christmas. It would be my prayer that they do not just put Christmas on the shelf this year because of their circumstances. If you know someone, how about reaching out to them and inviting them to your home to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Help them feel that all is not lost and that they have hope through HIM. I love that people seem friendlier this time of year when out shopping.

Let us always show Jesus’ love when we are out in the community.

If you missed our November meeting, you missed a great program that our school children presented honoring our Veterans. Then afterwards the great lunch and entertainment was great. Thank you goes out to the grade six class of First Baptist Church School for such a special day.

Let me wish you all a very special Christmas this year. My prayer is that all will be well with you and your family as you celebrate Christ’s birth this year.

Blessings, Reba Pair

Thought of the Month:

“Help us O Lord to remember what this season is for---Get us past all the glitter, let our hearts search for more.

You have blessed us so richly, more than we’re worthy of---Help us, LORD to remember what’s important----is LOVE. Author unknown 10

STUDENT MINISTRY Seasons Greetings from the Marrs! Isn’t it funny how the holiday season causes us to reflect on milestones throughout our lives. Holidays serve as markers on our timelines. This picture is from Grace’s first Christmas during mine and Bobbye’s first year in ministry. Yes, that is a tiny rosemary bush that I’m stringing lights on. Our Charlie Brown Christmas tree was all our budget could manage.

Supporting a family on one part-time income also meant that we couldn’t travel the 4 hours home to visit our families during Thanksgiving or Christmas. So amidst the excitement of “baby’s first Christmas” and serving in a new mission field, there was a touch of loneliness and homesickness.

Perhaps God was preparing us for when we would serve in New Mexico and a visit home was at least a 17-hour drive. I still remember the sense of elation I felt when we drove into Brenham on the day we moved here. That homesickness was wiped away and we are so blessed each year to be near our families for special occasions. Many of you will be traveling during the holiday season and I pray for safety and security for you. Some of you may be lonely or homesick, especially if you are missing loved ones or are far away from home. I pray for comfort for you. Church family, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours. Enjoy your family and cherish the memories you make - my little Christmas helper is turning 18 soon.

See you in the new year!

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CHILDREN’S MINISTRY “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,” Hebrews 10:25(HCSB)

Good Morning, In the process of preparing for the changing of the seasons, my home gets a facelift and a purge. I know the catch phrase is “spring cleaning,” but my house has been going through the throws of spring cleaning in the fall. The closets have been emptied and reorganized. The drawers have been dumped and re-sorted.

Furniture has been rearranged and the house will soon become a “lighthouse” once I hang the Christmas lights.

The temptation during this period of cleaning is to just throw away anything you have not seen in a year. However, if you were to abide strictly by that rule you will throw out things that are irreplaceably valuable. For example, you don’t want to throw out the lights that you haven’t seen in a year, because they need to go back on the house. Pictures are also a no brainer. Still, there are those things that could fly under the radar (or have value to one person in the family but not to the person who is about to throw it away). So, even though you need to clean up and out, it is necessary to filter in order to not lose what is important.

The same principle should be applied to your time in this season. It will be very easy to get caught up with all that is offered (shopping, concerts, parades, light shows, egg nog festivals, all the Christmas parties - work, church, school, family, organizations, etc…). You might have the initial temptation to throw it all out without thinking. Then again, the other temptation is to get rid of nothing from your schedule and do it all. These Upcoming Events: solutions are opposite extremes to December 14 - Kids Team Christmas the same problem. However, I say you should create a filter. As a family Party; 6-8:30pm; Morrisons’ House decide what are the things that cannot be thrown out because they celebrate December 20 – Christmas Party; Christ and enrich the family. Then, 6-7:30pm; Gym determine what you can do without.

Do what will create irreplaceably December 27 & January 3 valuable memories, but most of all be intentional with your time as a family to No Wednesday Night Activities celebrate the birth of the Christ. Don’t December 24 & 31 look back and wish you hadn’t thrown No Sunday school away valuable time. Make the most of your time with what and who is most important.

January 10 - Restart Wednesday His Servant & Yours, Night Activities Bro. Alex

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PRESCHOOL MINISTRIES Sunday Mornings in December Basic Truth: God loves me.

Key Question: How do we know God loves us?

Bottom Line: God gave us Jesus.

Memory Verse: “God has given a son to us.” Isaiah 9:6 Can you believe it’s that time of year again? Time to decorate, bake cookies, buy gifts, sing carols. And in our word, it’s time to teach preschoolers the true story of Christmas – the story of when God gave us Jesus – the best gift ever!

Every year, this story is retold. God sends an angel to tell Mary the Good News, that Jesus is born. The angels tell the shepherds, and once they see baby Jesus, they tell everyone! Then the wise men come and worship God’s Son. If we’re not careful, we can easily forget that the story we’ve heard a million times is brand new for many who will be hearing it for the first time this year.

The story we get to share with preschoolers this time of year is so special that we need to tell it with excitement and wonder so that our children are excited about it too! We want to tell the true story of Christmas in a way that communicates to preschoolers that Jesus really is the best gift ever! He’s a very special delivery!

Remember, when you celebrate Jesus’s birth this year, celebrate it with the excitement of a child and share just the same. HE IS OUR SPECIAL DELIVERY! With Love this holiday season, Stacey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TONI SCHWARTZ 12-05 REBA PAIR 12-10 HARPER ROYALL 12-12-12 BRADY WALLACE 12-14-15

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FBC SCHOOL & EEC As we come to the end of 2017, I’d like to let my church family know how appreciative I truly am for all you have done to support the school ministry.

He has placed a supportive church staff for this ministry, too; and we are grateful for all they do, too!

If you have a talent you Last year the elementary staff and I discussed the possibility of getting Bibles for would like to share with the our students. If all the Bibles were the same, school, please contact us. it would make studying God’s word simpler We are collecting in the classroom. It was the desire of the elementary teachers and me to able to give donations and items for each child a Bible. The Bible will follow the Texas Celebration which will child from grade to grade. At the end of their be on February 23, 2018. time here, they will take their Bible as a gift.

With some funds I had set aside and donations from a few church members, I was able to purchase enough Bibles for our current students as well as enough for incoming students for the next few years. It was a joy to present the kids with the Bibles! My prayer is that they will love His word and hide it in their hearts!

As we look to the New Year, I pray for wisdom and discernment as we, the church and school, seek His plan for each of us.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Serving Him, Nancy Jahns

UPCOMING EVENTS December

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27-29 January 1

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1st grade to Franklin Safari Christmas Parade 6:00 Downtown Spelling Bee @ 6:00 in sanctuary Ms. LouLou – preschool chapel only Ms. LouLou – elementary chapel only Core Essentials – elementary only 5th grade to Bush Library Preschool Christmas Program @ 10:00 in sanctuary 4th -6th grade – to “ELF” performance @ Blinn 11:30 dismissal for school; EEC open EEC open EEC closed for Christmas EEC open FBCS & EEC closed EEC open Students return to class

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FROM TROY’S HEART Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Christmas is an exciting time, yet it is also a busy time. With so much to do and so little time to do it in, we can get pretty frazzled!

In fact, we can get so distracted we miss the meaning of Christmas all together.

It wasn’t any different that first Christmas! As people rushed around the Judean countryside due to the governor’s census, many people were so focused on getting to where they needed to go, they missed THE EVENT of all history, the human birth of God! How could the people in Bethlehem miss such a monumental, historical event? The same way we miss much of what God is doing around us, unintended busyness that distracts our spiritual attention.

Listen, I do not believe the people in Bethlehem were bad people for not paying attention to Mary, Joseph and their pregnant plight, they were just pre-occupied. Likely, no more pre-occupied than us during the holiday rush.

God is working all around us all of the time. Do me a favor. Slow down, maybe even stop, and ask God to show you some eternal events happening around you. Who knows, maybe it will be happening IN you?

I love you, Troy

Thank you

Dear FBC Family, We are very touched by your thoughtfullness during the sudden loss of our father and ”PA”. We appreciate those who were able to attend the funeral service, the prayers and the beautiful flowers. He will forever remain in our hearts and we find comfort knowing he is with Jesus. With our friends praying for us and our Hope in the Lord we know we will feel joy again.

Blessings to All, Kip and Kim Crenshaw and family Dear Church Family, A famous author once said, “You can’t go home again.” He never lived in Brenham! Thank you so much for welcoming me “home”. Your love and support throughout my “circumstances” has blown me away.

Thank you for showing me the Father’s love. I love you all!

Mary Sparks On behalf of the whole Baker family, I would like to thank my First Baptist family for all their support during my mother’s recent illness and death.

From the flowers at the funeral, to the Sunday School members who drove to the funeral, to the long prayer-gram-we felt your support and prayers, and deeply appreciate them. Thank you. I love being part of the FB family!

Ken & Daphne Baker

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Brenham’s First Baptist Church P. O. Box 600 Brenham, TX 77834-0600

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