the cornerstone - La Grande First Baptist Church

T H E C O R NE RS T O NE
First Baptist Church Newsletter
Brock Ewing
1
2, 6
Don McLean H.H. Dir
3
B-days & Anniv.
4
Missions Moment
TOWN
N o v . /D e c . 2 0 1 2
HOMESTEAD UPDATE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Pastor Wayne
V o l um e 2 2 , I s s ue 11 & 1 2
5-6
Many of you have asked how things are going at the country
outreach service which is now officially called HOMESTEAD Country Gathering.
There is a committed core group from FBC of approximately 50 people who regularly attend the 1:00 p.m. worship service at HOMESTEAD. Several of those also
attend I.B.S. and Sunday School at the town church on Sunday mornings. Some
attend both services on Sundays and hear the Sermon twice. These are the “Super
Saints”.
What we are really excited about is that after six weeks we have already had over
25 people attend who are not regular church attenders anywhere. This is our goal.
Many of these have responded very positively and want to continue coming.
Our official kickoff of the country outreach service will be on Sunday, November
11. We are planning a Chili and Cornbread Chuckwagon at 12:00 noon, followed
by the worship service at 1:00 p.m., followed by a country gospel concert with
singer, Charlie walker from Prineville at 2:00 p.m. We are hoping to invite as
many unchurched people as possible. Please pray for this outreach effort.
COUNTRY
We have also seen a number of new folks attending the town church. Please be
sensitive to reach out and show hospitality by introducing yourselves to someone
new and inviting them into your home.
Some have asked me how I’m holding up preaching at two services. Having Aaron Umpleby on board as our FBC Worship Leader/Church Administrator has already taken a huge load off of my shoulders. He is taking care of many details behind the scenes. Pastor Brock also gives me a break once a month as he preaches
at both services. He is doing a wonderful job. To God be the glory.
Please continue to pray for the Pulpit Search Committee as they trust God to guide
them and give them wisdom in our search for the next Senior Pastor. The members of the committee are Bob Coulter (chair), Brian Kruse, Christine McLean,
Jeanne Pellerin, Kevin Rainey, Curt Ricker and Bertha Thompson.
Wagons Ho!
Pastor Wayne
Page 2
V o l um e 2 2 , I s s ue 11 & 1 2
A SSOC I AT E P ASTO R
Ministry News
We don’t always see and aren’t always aware of the various ways God is working
through the different ministries of the church. I’d like to give an update in several
areas of our church’s ministry to keep the body informed about what is happening.
Youth Ministry
Our middle school and high school youth group has been meeting for about a month
-and-a-half now, giving us an opportunity to make an initial assessment regarding the
effectiveness of the new youth ministry structure. I believe the change has been a
positive one.
While the presence of a greater number of adult leaders initially posed a challenge in the area of communication, we’re starting to find a rhythm together as a team. The benefits of this structure are many, including increased supervision over children, a sharing of the workload that can help prevent ministry burnout,
greater ministry accountability due to the presence of our peers, and increased creativity in ministry ideas. In
addition, there is more of a family-feel to youth group due to a healthy mixing of age groups.
We have a wonderful staff of devoted and godly people who love kids. I praise God for the gift He has
given us in such excellent youth ministry leaders.
On November 9-11 our high school students will be going to the East by Northeast youth conference
at Camp Elkanah. The theme of this year’s conference will be “Who Is Your God?” and will focus on equipping students to defend their faith in a cultural climate which is increasingly anti-Christian. Please pray for
this conference and the students and adult leaders who are going. We desire that lives would be changed
through this event.
At the end of November/early December we will be hosting our first outreach event in hopes of attracting unbelieving college, high school, and middle school students. We hope that this will be a largely student-led event, giving those who know the Lord an opportunity to minister to their peers. We’d also like to
encourage the involvement of the whole church family. Please be thinking and praying about attending. God
may link you to a young person who needs godly counsel and someone to lead them to the Lord.
Church Membership
On Friday, October 19 Pastor Wayne and Bonnie hosted a group at their house to talk about church
membership. We had a wonderful night of fellowship and were all very touched as we listened to each other’s
testimonies. The Lord is so gracious and incredibly personal in the way He works in each of our lives! On October 28 we’ll welcome 11 or 12 new members to this church. We’re praising God for this gift!
Institute of Biblical Studies
The winter quarter of IBS will feature a continuation of the two adult courses we’ve been
offering this fall, Hebrews and Family Driven Faith. The Hebrews course is being taught by
Mike Martin and myself. Brian Kruse will continue as the teacher of Family Driven Faith.
Continued on page 6
T he C o r n e r s to n e
In His Service,
Don McLean
Director of Heidi Ho Christian School
Page 3
Page 4
V o l um e 2 2 , I s s ue 11 & 1 2
November b-days
2)
5)
10)
14)
16)
18)
19)
20)
21)
22)
23)
27)
29)
1)
2)
5)
Alaina Binder
Julie Brown
Levi Martin
Emily Butler
Don Emmons
Jim Pellerin
Kelsey Brown
Natalie Leigh
John Tucker
Stephanie Stonebreaker
Ed Hegele
Tracy Cook
Tom Brown
Bernice Miller
Ehrman Bates
Cameron Gaertner
Dean Stone
Jeri Carter
Paige Marie Barker
7)
8)
9)
10)
12)
14)
16)
21)
23)
24)
28)
29)
31)
Anniversaries
11)
Bob and Phyllis Routt
1977
16)
Curt and Twila Roper
1945
17)
Tim and Laura McManus
1984
23)
Curt and Tatiana Ricker
1996
28)
Ron and Sissy Garinger
1987
Please let us know if there are corrections or additions we
need to make. Include these names in your daily prayers
Pray a special prayer for these on their birthday
or Anniversary.
8)
13)
16)
19)
20)
22)
23)
David Pidcock
George Barrow
Pam Boe
Eldon Chandler
Noah McLean
Jeanne Pellerin
Emily Moody
Paula Davenport
Warren Moran
Teresa Maszk
Issac Seggerman
Les Patterson
Doug Hopper
Marcus Carpenter
Brian Kruse
Alison Martin
Cathy Patterson
Debra Stevens
Bob Butler
Corey Ackerman
Pat Seggerman
Mary Lanmon
Trevor Johnston
2002
1975
1961
2008
2004
1980
1974
1962
Fred & Verna Hill
Pat & Marlene O’Rourke
Clyde & Betsy White
Kevin & Lindsey Haye
Kuensting’s
Gary & Pam Howland
Gary & Phyllis Hart
Dean & Judy Stone
T he C o r n e r s to n e
Page 5
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 (ESV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born
again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable,
undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have
been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:3-7 (ESV)
Page 6
Continued from page 2 Ministry News
The college/high school IBS class for the winter will seek to answer pressing questions that students
have about Scripture and how it intersects with the issues of life. We intend to pass out a survey to the students on
October 28 to get their feedback in preparation for the winter. This course will likely feature a team of teachers
working in a rotation throughout the quarter.
We’re excited about God’s working in all these areas and more! Please continue to faithfully hold up these
ministries in prayer. Thank you so much for your ministry to us through prayer.
Brock
–
Hi! Bertha Thompson here. I’m going to be writing a column for our newsletter called Missions Moments – Then and Now. I
will be talking about missionaries from past decades and centuries, and about our own personal missionaries that we support here at
First Baptist.
Why me? Well, I have great credentials!
We didn’t have TV at our house until I was a junior in high school – 1966. We only got one then so that Daddy could watch
football on Sunday afternoons. So instead of watching TV in the evenings, after we went to bed my mother would sit in the middle of
the house where we could all hear her, and she would read to us. She would start with the Bible, of course, so that we would all be
awake. Then she would read a variety of other books. We heard the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, all the Anne books by
L.M. Montgomery, books by Gene Stratton Porter like Freckles, Girl of the Limberlost and Laddie. Are you pea-green with envy yet?
But Mom’s favorite thing to read was missionary biographies. We listened to stories about J. O. Frazier, Paul White, Adiniram
Judson, J. Hudson Taylor, Isabel Kuhn, Nate Saint, Amy Carmichael, C. T. Studd, D.L. Moody, and Jim Elliott. Now I know you’re
pea-green! What a way to grow up! I now have most of those books on my shelf, and I will pull tidbits from here and there to give you
a taste of what it was like. If you don’t know any of those people – boy are you in for a real treat.
How about a teaser? When Amy Carmichael was a little girl she wanted blue eyes. When her mother told her about God answering prayer, she prayed for blue eyes, and went trustingly to sleep, knowing that she would have them in the morning. Imagine her
dismay when the mirror revealed that she still had her same old brown eyes. Her mother assured her that yes, God always answers
prayer, but sometimes He says no. When Amy began her work in India rescuing babies that were destined for temple prostitution, her
brown eyes allowed her to dress in a sari and mingle with the Indian people in a way that would not have been possible had her eyes
been blue. I loved that story as a little girl – and still do.
So what about the “Now” part of this column? This part will be about our missionaries that we support here at First Baptist.
I hope to stir up your interest and support of all these special people. Do you know their
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
names and where they serve? Do you know if their health is good, and if they have all the financial
1702 Sixth and Spring St.
support they need? Do you help support them with your prayers and your money? Are they lonely?
1110 Spring St. (mailing address)
Do you know any of their e-mail addresses?
La Grande, OR 97850
Our missionaries are like soldiers: they go on our behalf and in our place. They need and
deserve our encouragement, love, and prayers.
Bu i ld i n g T o get h er
Bertha Thompson
o n Ch r i s t A lo n e
Missions MAT
Phone: 541-963-3911
Fax: 541-963-2236
E-mail: contact @lagrandefbc.org