We Are All Missionaries
When we receive
Jesus Christ as our Savior, He by right of ownership becomes our
Lord. He has the right to give us commands.
One of the foremost commands is recorded to us as
disciples in each of the Four Gospels. In Matthew, He
commands, “make disciples” (28:19-20).
Mark,
working with Peter, says we are to “proclaim the gospel to
everyone” (16:15-20).
Dr. Luke
said we are to “preach in His name” (24:44-48).
And John the beloved
reminds us “as the Father has sent me, so send I you” (20:21).
This repeated command makes each of us a Missionary
any time we meet a person who has not yet trusted Christ.
Since our Lord knew we would need help and
encouragement in this work, He gave the Great Commission again
in the Book of Acts 1:8 and formed His Body the Church to
help us work together.
At First Baptist Church, we are involved in
obediently serving in a threefold commission.
1) We look upward in worship and praise to our Lord.
2) We unite as a church for fellowship, discipline
and training.
And 3) we go outward as missionaries to the world.
Jim Elliot, a missionary, wrote, “Missionaries are
very human folks, just doing what they are asked; simply a bunch
of nobodies trying to exalt somebody—Jesus Christ.”
Perhaps the Lord is asking us to pray for and share
the gospel with somebody we know or meet. Let us make it our
business to share the eternally good news of the Gospel.
We are, after all, very much like beggars who have
found the bread of life and want to share it with everyone we
know.
May the Lord bless our missionary work and the
missionaries we pray for and support.
In the service of our Lord,
Pastor Seefried
Attendance Report
March
30 - 97 April 13 - 98
April 6
- 83 April 20 - 100
Average for 2007: 104
Average for 2008: 101.5
May
Assignments
Social
Hostesses: Lorlea Mees, Melissa Lee
Church Pickup: LeRoy & Bobby
Welch
Visitor Deliveries: Gail &
LaDonna Southwick
Church Lockup: Gail Southwick
Communion Preparation: Linda
Hedges
Greeters: 4 – LeRoy & Bobby
11 – Joan White
18 – Dodie Bales 25 – Peggy
Coatman
Children’s Sermon: 4 – Nancy A.
11 – Pastor
18 - Matthea H. 25 –
Pastor
Offering Prayer: 4 – Jack
R. 11 – Randy M.
18 – John M. 25 - Virg
W.
Ushering: Chris Amundson
Leadership Team
April Meeting Highlights
The
Leadership Team held their monthly meeting on Wednesday, April
9. The following is a short summary of the business conducted:
- Agreed
to donate $200 to YouthNET for the lock-in;
- Set
dates for VBS, July 21-25; and Rally Day, August 24;
- Asked
for suggestions on ways to get members back to Sunday
services and church activities;
- Voted
to allow the purchase of a mini-van for around $8,000;
-
Discussed re-upholstering seats and backs of pews-costs,
etc.
BYG
The
blessings of Christ continue to be clearly visible in our youth
group these days as we just experienced another incredible
month. We finished our series “Just Like Jesus” and have begun
one on seeing God around us.
In April we also held our first outreach night, an event held
the first Wednesday of every month, geared toward reaching out
to those who haven’t accepted Christ. Our first one was already
a success as four students accepted Christ, and many others were
impacted by what our Heavenly Father did that evening.
We continue to see more and more students step out in their
faith and desire to serve Christ within our youth group, which
has definitely been exciting for me to see, and we look forward
to seeing more of this as the months go by. Before the month is
over, we will have essentially turned our upperclassmen loose in
our ministry.
Although this may seem like a high risk, I have talked to many
youth leaders who have witnessed tremendous growth in their
ministries due to a similar move; and I know and trust that
these students are ready for such a challenge. We look forward
to seeing, and pray you will too, how our new series and the new
changes will impact our youth group in the months to come!
For His Glory,
Matthea
Youth Leader Attends Conference
Thanks
to the church, I was able to attend the SHIFT youth leaders’
conference held at Willow Creek Church in Chicago early in
April. To describe all that God showed me through this
conference would take way more time than I have here, but I
simply wanted to thank you for allowing me to go.
I was
able to sit through many incredible speakers, participate in
amazing worship, and interact with countless leaders from across
the nation, all of which I know will greatly impact both our
church and our youth group as the months go by.
I
would love to sit down and talk with any of you in regards to
what all I learned over the course of the week, but perhaps the
most significant thing I learned came during our last session.
During it, four 9th graders and two 7th
graders led worship from the church’s junior high ministry.
As I
thought about this on the way home, I realized that my and
Tyler’s positions here at First Baptist should not necessarily
be teaching and leading worship for these students on Wednesday,
but teaching and leading them to teach and lead worship on
Wednesdays. With our students’ strong desire to lead and serve,
and with the immense potential they possess, I’m excited about
moving toward this in the future and ask that you join us in
praying for this “shift” in our youth ministry.
Thanks
once again for allowing me to attend this conference, and I look
forward to the conversations it will provide between us in the
coming months!
For
His Glory,
Matthea
2008 Graduation Reception
On Sunday, May 4, following
worship service, we will honor our high school graduates with a
reception. Our church youth graduating from Fairbury High
School this year are Tori Ackman, Amanda Broxterman, Spencer
Brunow, Tashawni Davis, Ryne Gappa, Brandon Hirsch, Jake Immink,
and Patty Meyn.
In
addition, Bob and Judy Leonard’s grandson,
Michael
Leonard, will graduate from Fairbury High School; and Peggy
Coatman’s granddaughter, Haley Easton, will graduate from Thayer
Central High School. Our lone college graduate is R. J.
Robinson.
Change of Address: Rosella Cline
- 2001 “I” St.#4
Sympathy:
We express our
sympathy to Sally Markey and her family on the death of her
mother,
Celebrate with Us!
All-Church Picnic
Noon, Sunday, June 1
South Shelter, City Park
Sunday, June 1, is a day
to celebrate! Pastor Jim Cutts, wife Karla, and children, Abby
and Jimmy, will begin their ministry in Fairbury. Please join
us to welcome them at this special event.
The
church will provide chicken, drinks, and paperware. The
remainder of the meal will be potluck. Please bring your
special food dish to share.
Vacation Bible School 2008
Power Lab
Discovering Jesus’ Miraculous Power
July 21-25, 1:00-4:00 P.M.
First Baptist
is Powering Up to host another funfilled week of Vacation Bible
School!
Informational Meeting: Thursday, May 8, 7:30 P.M. in the
church chapel. All those interested in helping with VBS, please
attend.
Needed: Lab Crew Leaders. We need adults and teens who
love the Lord and who love children! Each lab crew consists of
3-5 VBS children and one crew leader. You don’t prepare
anything, just come each day, guide your crew members through
activities, help facilitate discussions, and generally join the
Power Lab fun! Requirements: Attend the Lab Crew Leader
training meeting.
When
our staff is complete, things will start bubbling at Power Lab!
Please
pray for our VBS 2008. We covet your prayers as we look forward
to this powerful week.
Your VBS Team – Marcia Mitchell,
Connie Schwartz, Bonnie Southwick, Sara Tucker
VBS 2008
Mission Outreach
Power
Lab 2008—Group Publishing is partnering with International Bible
Society to give the kids at Power Lab the chance to share God’s
love through missions.
Over
the years IBS’s “Operation Kid-to-Kid” has become one of the
world’s largest child-to-child service outreach programs.
Through our daily visits to “Wacky Works Crafts and Missions,”
our VBS children will learn about this year’s mission project to
send GO Balls to South Africa. (GO stands for Gospel
Outreach.) They’ll see the cool, colorful soccer balls, sign
them, and pray for the children who will receive them as well as
the “coaches” who will minister to the kids in South Africa.
Kids
will also personalize and draw pictures and messages on the back
of the “Coaching for Sport…Coaching for Life” books that will be
sent with the soccer balls. These books are specially designed
to help children connect what they’re learning about soccer to
faith in God.
Our
“Power Lab 2008” goal for sending soccer balls to kids in South
Africa is 50. Church members can partner in this
project by sponsoring a ball and a gospel booklet. The cost is
$8.99 per unit. You may sign up in the church foyer to take
part in our VBS mission project.
Please
contact Bonnie Southwick with any questions (729-5379) or leave
your donation with the church office.
Thank
you for partnering with VBS Power Lab 2008!
Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox Project
We are
still in need of items for our 2008 Christmas shoebox project.
At the present time, we have 50 boxes which are ready, so we
have a long way to go before November if we want to exceed last
year!
Especially needed now are BOXES, toothpaste, wash clothes,
combs, pencil sharpeners, clothing, or anything you feel would
be suitable to fit into a box.
Please
leave your donations at the church marked “shoebox project.”
Camp Merrill Project Days
May 2-3
Some
of the men from our church will be going to Camp Merrill of May
2 and 3 to work on several projects around the camp. If you
would like to help in this way, please contact Gail Southwick
(729-5268).
2007 Annual Reports Available
We
have 2007 annual report booklets available at the church for
those who would like a copy. If you are unable to get to the
church, please let us know; and we will make arrangements to get
one to you.
Don’t Forget Your Summer
Camp Registrations
Please
contact Gail Southwick if you are planning to attend one of the
summer camps at Moses Merrill. You will need to pay a $25
registration fee. The church has scholarships available for the
remainder of the cost. Don’t delay! Some camps fill up
rapidly, and you may not get the one of your choice.
You Are Invited. . .
Please
join us for a Graduation Open House honoring Brandon Hirsch on
Saturday, May 10, starting at 4:00 P.M., at 921 22nd
Street.
Loren & Deb Hirsch
---Special Interest Missionaries---
The special interest missionaries assigned to our region have
been sent to us. Write to them, pray for their work, learn more
about them, support them in any way you can.
Julie Durrett,
(Neighborhood Action/Christian Center) Friendship House, 3123
Eighth Avenue, South, Billings, MT 59101, (406) 259-5569,
Birthday 02/26
Dr. Barbara M. Hartnett,
(Neighborhood Action/Christian Center) Friendship House of
Christian Service, 800 N. E. Madison Avenue, Peoria, IL 61603,
(309) 671-5200, Birthday 12/05
Mr. Alvin Lewis, wife
Lisa, (Neighborhood Action/Christian Center) United Christian
Centers of Greater Sacramento, 2620 – 21st Street, PO
Box 188150, Sacramento, CA 95818, (916) 452-2883, Birthday
08/25, Children Aaron, b-day 07/11/97
Rev. Daniel Buttry,
(Global Service Missionary) 20798 Syracuse St., Warren, MI
48091, Birthday 09/26, e-mail
dbuttry@comcast.net, Children, Christopher (adult), Jonathan
(adult), Janelle, b-day 7/22/85
Michael and Rebecca Mann,
P.O.Box 29, Chiang Mai 50000, Thailand, Birthdays, 08/09 and
02/27, e-mail
mikemann@loxinfo.co.th, Children, Richard 7/26/86, Melanie
11/15/87, Ryan 11/20/90, Robert 7/18/93
Rev. Ruth E. Mooney,
Fed de Asoc. Baut. De Costa Rica, Apartado 1631-2100, Guadalupe,
San Jose, Costa Rica, e-mail
Ruthe_Mooney@hotmail.com, Birthday 07/25.
