Posted July 31, 2009 in July 2009, Women's Ministries, Synergy
This year our women’s events are revolving around the theme, “Once upon a time….” Every six weeks we plan an event for women, which involves someone telling a Faith Tale. Our kick-off event developed the theme with the following topic:
- Having a Princess Heart in a Not-so-happily-after-World
This event was a girl’s night out Pajama Party. Everyone was invited to the church in their PJ’s, sweats, or other comfy clothes at 7 p.m. They brought their favorite snack and beverage and joined together in the Park Café to watch a DVD and have fun.They viewed a DVD by comedian Chonda Pierce in which she shares a testimony about dealing with depression.
In upcoming months we plan on exploring the following topics based upon the stories below:
- Princess and the Pea – Is sin keeping you up at night?
- Cinderella - Meeting the Prince of Peace
- Sleeping Beauty – Resting in the Lord; finding true beauty
- Snow White - Be anxious for nothing
- The Old Woman in the Shoe - Juggling responsibilities
- Jack Sprat – Good choices for healthy living
- Little Red Riding Hood - Who is robbing you of your Joy?
- Three Little Pigs – Financial planning for women
- Peter Pan - Growing up godly
- Pied Piper - The pull of culture and where it is leading women
- Mary, Mary Quite Contrary - What are you planting in your spiritual garden? (Idea: plan an event to share plants from our gardens and share love with friends and neighbors.)
- Emperor’s New Clothes - The folly of believing whatever you want (Idea: Discussion of book, Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free , or intro to a Bible study)
- Little Miss Muffet - Facing your fears
Debbie Weil, pastor’s wife
Park Avenue Baptist Church
Binghamton, New York
(submission provided by Jeannie Vogel, RBP women’s ministry consultant)
Posted July 30, 2009 in 1967, Social Concerns, Resolutions, GARBCnews
1967 Annual Conference resolution, passed by voting messengers.
New Morality
Posted in July 2009, Women's Ministries, Synergy
For an event to kick off and promote our fall Bible study, our women’s ministry hosted a Pampered, Pink, and Pretty Night. We had make-up tips, facials, pedicures, manicures, hair cuts and makeovers, full body massages, entertaining tips, and floral demos - all of which were free! A great skit was given showing “What Not to Wear” with emphasis on inner beauty. An abundance of food was provided throughout the evening. The evening ministered to about eighty ladies coming from the community. The gospel was shared and over fifty ladies signed up the upcoming fall Bible study! All the ladies of the church pitched in to make it a very successful evening!
Linda Nemmers, pastor’s wife
First Baptist Church
Grundy Center, IA
View photo gallery of this event.
(submission provided by Jeannie Vogel, RBP women’s ministry consultant)
Posted July 29, 2009 in July 2009, Building Your Ministry, Synergy
As a pastor I sought to affirm a commitment annually among our leadership team of pastors and deacons to our mutual ministry. This practice encouraged us to hold each other accountable to an agreed upon standard of conduct and to the overall ministry responsibilities we shared. Below is an example of the seven-fold commitment statement to which we agreed:
We commit . . .
1. …to be godly men of faith—prayerful, dedicated, growing in spiritual things
2. …to our stated purpose as a church and our vision for our potential future impact in this community
3. …to make caring a priority—through structured programs as well as personal example
4. …to strengthen our administrative skills—planning, organizing, delegating, coordinating, etc
5. …to see ourselves as ministers more than managers—being willing to appropriately share authority and responsibility with other leaders
6. …to build “team ministry” through agreed objectives, united prayer, mutual love and support, communication, recognition of gifts and calling, and accountability
7. …to develop a greater commitment to servant hood—giving of ourselves for others and the work of the Lord
Jim Vogel, associate national representative
GARBC Resource Center
Schaumburg, IL
Posted in July 2009, Ministry Toolbox, Synergy
Want a substantive book that addresses biblical material about baptism with precision and grace? Believer’s Baptism by Thomas Schreiner and Shawn Wright (B&H Academic, 2006) is for you. It covers important historical background, as evidenced by a chapter devoted to the beliefs of the Anabaptists, and faces head-on the position of reformed paedobaptists. This volume may be the most significant theological work on the subject since G.R. Beasley-Murray. . . and should be in every pastors library.
Jim Vogel, associate national representative
GARBC Resource Center
Schaumburg, Illinois
Posted in July 2009, Children's Ministries, Synergy
Christ taught that children are important and that they need to be protected (Matt. 18:1-6). A church can never be too careful when it comes to protecting children from harm. Criminal background checks are a tool that will help you protect the children that God has put under your church’s care.
- The primary reason to do criminal background checks is to keep people with records or problems out of your children’s ministry. It is unlikely that you will “catch” anyone with the background check, but when someone with a record hears that you require one, they will simply move on to another church.
- Background checks provide a better defense for the church if a problem occurs and a lawsuit results. Generally speaking, a church can lose a lawsuit if it has failed to meet adequate standards in the recruiting/hiring process or because it has failed to oversee a worker properly.
- Be aware that people will object to giving out their social security number for background checks. Even if they are aware and supportive of the need to pursue the check, they are fearful of disclosing that piece of personal information.
- The price of not doing background checks far outweighs the inconvenience and relatively small price of doing the background check. The damage that results from sexual abuse cannot be understated. Sexual abuse devastates the victim and the family of the victim. Its affects will reverberate through your children’s ministry, your pastoral staff, and even your ability to evangelize the lost.
- Background checks reassure parents that their children are safe and that your church is serious about protecting children. If a parent thinks that a child isn’t safe, that child will not be in a children’s ministry and the parent will tell other parents. Bad news spreads faster than good news.
Mike Plog, pastor
Faith Baptist Church
Amherst, Ohio
Posted in July 2009, Inward Look, Synergy
In Praise of Little Places and Humble People
Ever been to Omer, Michigan? It’s a town along Lake Huron not far from Tawas. I drove through it on my way to a funeral a few years ago. Don’t blink, you may miss it. In fact, the signs going in and out of town claim that it’s “Michigan’s Smallest City.” (No, they do not use the same sign post for both directions!)
Michigan’s smallest city?! That claim took me by surprise. In these days of bigness, it’s refreshing to see people brag about being small. After all, big isn’t always best . . .that’s especially true in the spiritual realm.
God isn’t into bigness, as are so many of us. He seems to delight in using the small and insignificant to accomplish His purposes. He prizes humble people who live for Him without acclaim and recognition. They are among those He calls great!
Praise God for the humble pastoral servants who lead our churches across the country, often in “little” places. Many serve in smaller churches and struggle to handle their pastoral duties without any support staff. Many pastors are under-appreciated and overburdened, especially in these days when respect for the office of pastor is at an all-time low. Pastor, it is good to remember that you are regarded highly in the Lord! At times you may think that your work is insignificant. . . but be encouraged! God recognizes faithfulness and rewards humble service!
Jim Vogel, associate national representative
GARBC Resource Center
Schaumburg, Illinois
Posted in July 2009, Home Front, Synergy
Pastor Laird Baldwin desires to encourage pastors and ministry leaders and their families. If you have a particular topic or dilemma related to pastors or ministry leaders’ families that you would like to see addressed, please email Pastor Laird. Your anonymity would be protected. Please let us know if a column of this nature might be of help to you, and we can include it in future issues of Synergy.
Pastor Laird shares his thoughts about the column :
Life in the parsonage can be difficult. In many ways, a pastor’s family is as ordinary as anyone. On the other hand, the parsonage can be a lonely and isolated universe at times. “Actually, I do need someone to talk to,” confided one pastor’s daughter, “It’s hard to figure out who to talk to during times like this.” Opening up one’s feelings to church people is not necessarily an option because, as she explained, “It’s not appropriate to talk to them sometimes. And friends from work could never understand what in the world I’m talking about when it comes to ministry.”
I’ve begun to consider whether I could provide an outlet for people like that young lady. Might there be a place for a column that shares the insights, struggles, challenges, and victories of life in the parsonage? The fact is that families whether in the parsonage or on the mission field do feel at times as if there is no one with whom they can talk and just be themselves. They need a sounding board, not the board of deacons. I’m no “Dear Abby” and I make no pretense to having answers to all the problems a pastor’s family can face. Still, after more than thirty years in the ministry, and having led our own family through the ministry mine field, I have a certain amount of experience. Besides, I have an endless supply of resources. One granddad, my father-in-law, two uncles, a brother-in-law, and a nephew have been or are now pastors, and two sons-in-law and three brothers-in-law are serving the Lord in other aspects of ministry.
Perhaps a need might be met or a nerve struck. Perhaps we can share a laugh, or someone will say “Yeah, that happened to us, too.” Those of us in the ministry share the unique experience of living in the very public and yet very private life of the parsonage, all while looking to the Lord for daily grace. If this column could make the journey a little easier, the labor a little less wearisome, I will have accomplished my purpose. Meanwhile, may the Lord bless our homes.
Laird Baldwin, pastor
Bible Baptist Fellowship
Brookville, Ohio
Posted in July 2009, Reach Out, Synergy
Now is a good time to start preliminary planning for your church’s Christmas program. Pastor Steve Poludinak describes the program used for outreach by Tri-County Baptist Church last Christmas:
Dinner/drama theater/choir cantata
A Christmas Dinner was served quickly by our choir members and support personnel. Various small caroling groups strolled during dinner and sang carols in Victorian period hats, bonnets, and capes. The choir performed a 45-minute presentation, Let All Heaven and Nature Sing, which was supported by CDs and our own PowerPoint imagery slide show. Preceding the choir performance, a ten-minute monologue was given by an “inn keeper,” which set the stage for the events of Jesus being born in Bethlehem. The monologue drama pulled the guests into the setting two thousands years ago in a vivid way to prepare them for the choir’s story in song. Pastor J.O. Purcell closed the evening with an invitation to consider the gift of Jesus Christ. Follow-up response sheets were available for all guests at the tables.
Our facilities had a maximum space for 200 so we “sold” tickets to insure reservations for both nights of the program. The $5 ticket covered expenses for the meal and program. We did not advertise this event because our people invited many neighbors and friends. We were sold out both nights with half of the attendees being non-church guests.
Key things we experienced:
- Major areas of responsibility were delegated to people who took control and enjoyed taking the initiative in their gifted areas, including music, drama, dinner, service & clean-up, advertising, decorations, costumes/crops, or tickets/reservations. Nearly 25% of our church was involved.
- Our people saw this as a unique opportunity to introduce friends and neighbors to our church as we were approaching our 1st anniversary in our new building near The Villages, Florida. For example, one lady bargained to go to a Jewish friend’s Passover meal if she would consider attending her first Christmas event, and another couple had a total of 17 guests.
- We kept things as simple as possible, but we tried to have the best quality as possible. It was a smoothly run event and we had favorable feedback from our guests.
Steve Poludniak, administrative pastor
Tri County Baptist Church
Lady Lake, Florida
See RBP’s new Christmas children’s program, Ready for Christmas.
Posted in July 2009, Inward Look, Synergy
In ministry certain periods of time may seem like drought experiences in our lives. However God’s Word reminds us of the Lord’s love and care every hour. Consider His provisions found in Psalm 125.
Position
“Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides forever”
(Ps. 125:1).
Two well-known mountains are in the Word of God: Mt. Sinai representing the Law and Mt. Zion representing grace. When a man realized he couldn’t save himself by good works, he said, “I changed mountains.” Position tells that we have the following status in the Lord–sons of God (John 1:12), heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17), citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:21), in God (Col. 3:3), with Christ (Col. 3:3), and in Christ (1 Cor. 3:30).
Protection
“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time forth and forever” (Ps. 125:2).
G. Campbell Morgan, great Bible teacher and Pastor, couldn’t sleep one night. He thought of this verse, “Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Ps. 121:4), and responded, “Lord, if you are staying up to watch over things, I just might as well go to bed.” God is our Protector: He is in us, over us, round about us, under us and in us. Is that not well-rounded protection?
Prevention
“For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on theland alloted of the righteous; lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity” (Ps. 125:3).
Charlie Baylock prayed, “O Lord, the devil is after me; protect your property!”
Performance
“Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts” (Ps. 125:4).
There is a law of performance: “Give and it will be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put unto your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).
Punishment for evil doers
“As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them away with the workers of iniquity” (Ps. 125:5a).
The ungodly crowd will meet the Lord in judgment. Defiance toward God yields recrimination.
Peace
“Peace shall be upon Israel” (Ps. 125:5b).
Peace of spirit results in rest of soul, delight of heart and motivation of life. Christ made peace through the blood of the cross (Col. 1:20). There is perfect peace in trusting the Lord for salvation (Isa. 26:3). When the disciples were caught in a vehement storm on the sea of Galilee, Jesus arose and said, “Peace, be still.” (Mark 4:37-39).There was a great storm, then a great calm. The Lord can quiet the storms in our lives.
God has made provisions for every step of our journey from earth to Heaven. When we are experiencing periods of drought in our ministries, we can turn to Psalm 125 and remember the gifts the Lord so graciously provides–each hour, every day.
John Lineberry, pastor
Ambassador Baptist Church
Jacksonville, Florida
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