Pastor’s Pen: Overcoming Spiritual Burnout [ January 9 ] UPWARD GAMES BEGIN
[ January 18 ]
Have you ever wondered why someone suddenly drops out of church or active Christian service? Have you ever asked yourself, "What happened to the excitement and zeal I used to feel in the early days of my faith walk?" Over and over again, we hear our church family talk about being tired and worn out. The Apostle Paul wrote, "Gently encourage the stragglers and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet" (1 Thessalonians 5:14, The Message). That's what I want to do! The theme of our Winter Bible Study for 2016 will be "OVERCOMING SPIRITUAL
CHURCH BUILDING CLOSED BURNOUT." All adult Bible Teaching classes are invited to attend this special study MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY in the Fellowship Hall during the Bible Teaching hour on Sundays, January, 24
[ January 24 & 31 ] WINTER BIBLE STUDY 9:30 - 10:30AM FELLOWSHIP HALL
and 31. I'll be teaching the sessions which will go along with my January Sermon Series. I hope your Bible study group will make plans to join us on these two special Sundays. Please note that we will NOT be having our usual Winter Bible Study luncheon and afternoon sessions. We are cutting back to the two morning sessions this year, because our congregation (especially the kitchen crew!) has been working hard on the Imagine If process, usually over Sunday afternoon meals. In other words, we didn't want to burn you out while we study the theme of burnout! It is my prayer that we can begin the New Year refreshed, filled with God's energizing presence, ready to tackle the challenges and opportunities which we will discover together from the Imagine If congregational conversation on March 6. A great year awaits us. We want to be faithful, ready and willing. I hope you'll join me for a great year of serving Christ together. Grace,
Praise & WORSHIP
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JANUARY 10 - JANUARY 31, 2016
JAN
WHEN LOVE GROWS COLD
JAN
WHEN CHURCH TAKES MORE THAN IT GIVES 2 Corinthians 11:22-30
10 Revelation 2:1-7 17
JAN
JESUS, THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES John 15:1-11
JAN
FROM SURVIVING TO THRIVING SPIRITUALLY Acts 18:5-11 Romans 12:11-12
24 31
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 150:6
ADULT CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA - January is a great time to join! All are welcome to come and be part of our worship leadership team! It’s time to take all those instruments out of storage and put them to use - that goes for all singing instruments, too! Orchestra……….Wednesdays, 5:30 - 6:25pm; adults and youth Adult Choir…...Wednesdays, 6:30 - 7:30pm; adults
YOUTH CHOIR AND YOUTH PRAISE TEAM …… 7th-12th grades Youth Praise Team ……. Sundays, 5:15 - 6:00 pm Youth Choir …….. Sundays, 6:00 - 6:45 pm
CHILDREN’S CHOIRS…...Wednesdays, 4:15 - 5:00pm; age 4 through 6th grade
SOUND TECHS AND PROJECTION TECHS…...if interested, see Rod.
The adult and children’s choirs performed during the 2015 Christmas musical.
PARENTS, PLEASE NOTE: JAN
24 JAN
31
The SONSHINE SINGERS (grades 4-6) will be singing during both morning worship services. The MUSIC MAKERS (grades 1-3) will be singing during both morning worship services.
Missions
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Christmas on Pine Ridge Reservation A team of 14 from First Baptist Church recently delivered Christmas to Lakota families on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Working with our partners, Wings as Eagles Ministries, the team was able to organize and distribute Christmas gifts to over 400 Lakota children, adults and elders in December.
THANK YOU FOR GIVING Throughout the month of December there were many opportunities for you to give. And you did. Generously. We thank you for your faithfulness to our mission partners locally, nationally and throughout the world. Here are a few updates to share.
PREGNANCY HELP CENTER - Our baby bottle campaign raised $2,602.75 for the PHC in Jefferson City. A young Lakota girl receives her Christmas shoe box.
The team was able to spend time in the communities as well, singing Christmas carols, delivering baked goods and inviting people to the Dream Center for the Christmas distributions each evening.
The February 2016 “Our Story� in the Word&Way will share more details from the trip. You may view pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/fbcjcmo. Thank you for your support throughout the year. Our next trip to South Dakota will be in late June. Dates TBA.
YOUTH DESSERT THEATRE - $8,865 was raised for our 2016 summer youth mission trip! We were blown away. Thank you to all who gave, and for your presence at the event.
SOUTH DAKOTA - Our church delivered 266 shoe boxes, numerous quilts and crocheted hats, and other donations to our partners in South Dakota. The church also gave $3,436.66 in donations for the trip and our partners.
GLOBAL MISSIONS OFFERING - $7,303.53 was given to support missions throughout the world.
2016 Kenya Mission Trip DATES: Saturday, June 25 - Thursday, July 7, 2016 COST: $3,200*
$500 deposit due by January 15. Balance due by June 1. *US Passport and certain immunizations are required and not included in the cost.
PEOPLE OVER PROJECTS. That is the heartbeat of all our mission partnerships. We love and encourage our Kenya partners. We spend a lot of time with the children - playing, listening, teaching sharing Bible stories and crafts. We also work on some construction projects as needed and do teacher training. There is plenty of variety for folks to be involved in and you are needed.
QUESTIONS? Contact Melissa Hatfield in the Church Office. Some partial scholarships are available for FBC church members.
Abigail Swanigan helps a child with a puzzle during her 2014 internship in Kenya.
Children’s MINISTRY
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Worship Bags Beginning this month we will have worship bags available for younger children to use during both worship services. The purpose is to give busy minds and hands a point of focus during the service. All items will help children learn about worship. A WOODEN BAG RACK WILL BE LOCATED AT THE FRONT OF THE SANCTUARY. BEFORE THE SERVICE, children may pick up a bag. AFTER THE SERVICE, please return the bag and all contents to the rack, EXCEPT the bulletin your child uses. Thank you for your help in caring for the bags. We hope they will be helpful for children who are learning about worship.
Becoming Like Christ On Sunday afternoons during Lent we will have a class for children who are considering baptism or have recently been baptized. The class will be for children in grades 1-6. We will study the traditions and practices of the church (baptism, communion, etc.), learn about Jesus’ life and what it means to be a Christian. We will meet on February 28, March 6 and March 13 from 3:00-5:00pm in Room 203. For our final meeting, those who are able will meet on Wednesday, March 23 from 5:00-6:15pm to make communion bread for our Maundy Thursday service. Location will be announced at a later date. If your child plans to participate, please sign up with Hannah by Sunday, January 24 hannah@fbcjc.org.
Fleece Tie Blanket-Making
to all who participated in our mission project. Thank you to our First Kids class for raising over $100 for this project. WOW! Nine families participated and made eight tie blankets, and packed Goodie Water Bottles to go with each blanket.
Four blankets were donated to St. Mary’s Hospital and four were donated to Capital Region. They will go to children and families in need of extra love.
Sadie, Brian, Hailey and Brandi McGeorge were part of the blanket-making team.
Blankets made and donated by FBC.
Youth
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SOULED OUT RETURNS Our midweek youth program starts back on January 6 with a brand new series “Squad Goals”. Relationships are the core of our lives - relationships with friends, family and God. Let’s start the New Year off by talking about some goals for healthy relationships in all three of these areas. Souled Out is Wednesdays from 6:00-7:30pm in the Refuge Youth Room.
Our 2015 Refuge Christmas Party
You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Snapchat at
@refugejc! JAN
Souled Out Praise Band begins rehearsals each Monday from 6:00 - 7:00pm.
JAN
Refuge Game Night from 6:00 - 7:30pm in the gym.
4
27
*
For additional information, go to refugejc.com.
Imagine If: Discovering God’s Vision What is God calling us to be and do in Jefferson City and around the world? This is the question our church began asking over a year ago as we launched Imagine If. This past year we have prayed and gathered together to discern the dreams God has for our congregation. What an exciting and challenging journey for us. Hundreds of dreams were submitted by our church family and it has been amazing to see the reoccurring themes that show the heart of our congregation. The 13 Imagine If facilitators will gather on January 16 for a day-long writing retreat with our consultant, Dr. Bill Wilson. The purpose of the retreat is to take what they have heard from the church family and craft three to five God-sized dreams for the
congregation. Those dreams will be shared with the church at one final congregational conversation on March 6. Details are in the green box below. First Baptist has a rich and beautiful story to celebrate. But that story isn’t over. God has many more amazing chapters to write that are beyond our wildest imaginations. Please join the facilitators and the pastoral leadership in prayer as we follow God’s leadership into the future for FBC JC. MAR
6
SAVE THE DATE Sunday, March 6, 2016
Our final congregational conversation on our proposed God-sized dreams for the future. Lunch will be served at 11:45am in the Fellowship Hall, followed by the congregational conversation at 12:30pm.
Congregational LIFE
PAGE 6 In Sympathy
New Officers for 2016 Terry Heiman, Chair Gene Wiseman, Vice Chair Lory Feeler, Secretary
Deacon Emeritus Denny Hodges Jean Lee Bernice Lilley
Family and friends of Orpha McDaniel Jean Warden and family in the death of his wife Family and friends of Ruby Shively Mike Allen and family in the death of his cousin
RESERVED PARKING
Pat Bly and family in the death of her sister
Everyone who attended the Youth Dessert Theatre had a great time. Something new we did was to auction off Pastor Doyle’s Sunday parking spot. PAT PERKINS placed the first winning bid! For the five Sundays in January, she will get to park in the spot normally reserved for Doyle. The amount she paid will go to the fund for the youth summer mission trip. Keep your eyes peeled. If you notice that Doyle forgot, remind him he can’t park there ANY Sunday during 2016!!! Thank you Pat, for supporting our youth.
Todd Pridemore and family in the death of his brother-in-law Family and friends of Kenneth Townley Dustin Kaiser and family in the death of his niece and her husband Family and friends of Barbara Gerbes
Inclement Weather Policy If the Jefferson City Public Schools cancel or dismiss early on a Wednesday, no meals or evening activities will be held. To find out if activities are canceled, please check: Church answering machine: 573.634.3603 Web site: fbcjc.org Social media: facebook.com/fbcjc _____ twitter@fbcjc Local TV stations: krcgtv.com ____________________ komu.com Local radio station: kwos.com A special Bits & Bytes will be sent, when possible.
Bible Teaching Attendance November 29 December 6 December 13 December 20 December 27
431 454 475 459 299
Worship Attendance November 29 December 6 December 13 December 20 December 24 December 27
528 821 610 631 970 389
Offering November 29 December 6 December 13 December 20 December 27
$17,397.64 $57,810.11 $40,756.60 $38,467.30 $23,812.63
Library and MEDIA CENTER SUNDAY
8:00 - 11:30am
WEDNESDAY
1:00 - 7:00pm
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Come and explore the Library and Media Center, located on the third floor across from ELEVATOR A. You’ll find a variety of material for all ages, from preschool to senior citizens. We offer a variety of genres in the FICTION area for your reading pleasure: Romantic Fiction Mysteries and Suspense Historical Fiction International Intrigue Amish Short Stories In the NONFICTION genres we offer many books to assist you in your Christian walk: Salvation and Grace Personal and Family Worship Decorative Arts Prayer Social Problems Geography and History We also have a variety of material that will assist you in an in-depth study of the Bible, both personally and in your Bible Teaching class.
ALSO AVAILABLE ……. Music CDs ……. Books on CD ……. Movie DVDs FEB
3
Hope to see you soon. Visitors during the month of January can enter a drawing for a special prize to be awarded on February 3:
ADULTS
CHILDREN
Senior ADULTS
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Friendship Club JAN
25
Roger and Jan Baker will present a program at 6:00pm in the Fellowship Hall. Everyone 60 and over is invited. Bring a covered dish and a friend. The Baker’s will discuss GENEALOGY:
CONNECTING BETWEEN HERE AND THERE.
Friendship Singers FEB
1
MAY
2-9
Rehearsals resume at 10:00am in the Choir Room. New Orleans Mission Trip - There are still a few spots available for our 2016 trip. The cost is $1,200 per person, contact the Church Office.
Coming SOON FEB
7
FEB
10 FEB
15 FEB
24 FEB
28
SCOUT SUNDAY 8:15am, Sanctuary
ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE 6:00pm, Sanctuary
CHURCH BUILDING CLOSED Presidents’ Day
QUARTERLY BUSINESS MEETING 5:45pm, Fellowship Hall
YOUTH SUNDAY 8:15 and 10:45am, Sanctuary
If you’re interested in helping with or learning more about the NURSING HOME WORSHIP SERVICES, contact Jim Nelson or Rod Maples. The current schedule is:
OAK TREE VILLAS 9:30-10:00am 1st Thursday of the month
ADAMS STREET 1:30-2:00pm 3rd Thursday of the month