Ministers Monthly Report to Church Council February, 2013

Randel Everett Pastor February 11, 2013 Change in Move In Date After a discussion with Bob Billups, Jim Hansen and Mike Elphick, we decided that we needed to change the date to begin services in the new building to March 10. Cooper Construction, JSA Architects, the building committee and the staff have worked diligently to move into the building by February 24, but because of situations beyond our control we believed the most prudent decision is to wait until March 10. This was our target date prior to the fire but worked hard to get in sooner because of the hardships experienced by being in different locations for worship. This will still come quickly and hopefully things will be in good shape by the first Sunday. Services in Lee High School The worship services in Lee High School Auditorium have gone very well. I appreciate the staff and volunteers who have committed many hours every weekend to turn the place into a worship center. On Saturday, January 26, we had 60 folks who went doorto-door in the Lee neighborhood giving out copies of God is not a Hobby booklet and inviting the neighbors to worship with us while we are at Lee. Impact Weekend Christian Nichles, Hunter, the PAIS team and a large number of others did an outstanding job leading our youth through Impact weekend. We are grateful to Fannin Terrace Baptist Church for allowing our youth to join them for this weekend. It was another example of God bringing a blessing out of the fire that forced our youth groups to meet together. Reconstruction of the Fellowship Hall We hope to have the final approval from our insurance carrier to begin the renovation of the Fellowship Hall by February 8. The smoke removal part of the clean up went well and efficiently. It has taken much longer to get permission to begin reconstruction. Hopefully this project will be completed in a couple of months. New Schedule We will implement a new Sunday schedule the first Sunday we return to the sanctuary: worship services at 8:25 and 11:05 and Sunday School at 9:45.

Bob Billups Senior Associate Pastor February 11, 2013 Wednesday Evening Activities resumed on January 9th in the main building with dinner being served in the D-Hallway Rooms and the Atrium. The attendance is slowly beginning to build back as we had our largest group for dinner this past Wednesday since the fire. Change is difficult but our folks on Wednesday evening have been super positive. Thanks to all!!! I’ve also had the pleasure of teaching prayer meeting over the last four weeks. What a joy to be able to teach in a room full of God’s finest. The FBC Personnel Committee interviewed and extended a call to Moses Caesar to become our next Minister of Young Adults & Single Adults. He accepted the position and will begin work this coming Wednesday, February 13. Dr. Caesar is a nationally known single adult speaker, author and has served several churches including Germantown Baptist Church just outside of Memphis, TN. Moses moved to Wichita Falls from his native India at the age of 7. Moses grew up at FBC Wichita Falls and became a Christian at the age of 10. Our Membership Committee with Chairman John Quisenberry met together this past Thursday evening to further organize the planning process for our 2013 Pictorial Directory. The Lifetouch representative, George Goreskie was present and trained the committee. Photos will be taken beginning April 23rd and ending June 8th accounting for 38 days of photography. Note: No Monday Photo Sessions. Lifetouch will not photograph on the following dates between April 23 & June 8: April 29, May 6, 12(Mothers Day), 13, 20, 25-27(Memorial Day Weekend), & June 3. Photo sessions will be 2-9 pm on weekdays, 9:30 am – 4 pm on Saturdays and 12:00 pm – 4 pm on Sundays. Online sign-up will be available from the convenience of your own home or even on the move with a mobile internet device. For those who don’t have access to the internet, tables will be available for sign-up on Sundays & Wednesday evenings. Sign-up for the photo sessions will begin February 21. Our goal is to have over 900 FBC Families in this directory. All church members & Sunday School members are eligible to be photographed for the 2013 Pictorial Directory. After meeting week before last with the insurance company who carries our church policy, it was determined that we would have an OK by February 8th to begin the rebuild of the fellowship hall. Cooper Construction is ready to begin the project which will take approx. 6-8 weeks to complete. At the time of this report we have not received that OK to begin. However we did receive a first payment of $250,000.00 from the insurance company on February 8th. It is an honor to serve this great church. Thank you for the opportunity.

David Johnson Associate Pastor February 8, 2013 In the past month I have made approximately 137 hospital visits, made 22 home visits, made 13 phone calls and prayed with members on the phone, and assisted with 5 funerals. I had the privilege of baptizing 2 and I led two Nursing Home service (Parks Methodist in Odessa and Manor Park in Midland). I have also been auditing the BH Carroll Leadership class taught by Bro. Randel each Tuesday evening. It is a joy to serve with this family of faith and this staff leadership team.

Gene Hilburn Family Life Ministry of First Baptist Church January 2013 Counseling Appointments and supervision: This month I had thirty counseling appointments. and ten supervision sessions. My two interns are doing well and seeing several clients each week. They have expanded this ministry greatly. Sunday Duties: I continue to interview individuals and families joining our church or making decisions. I take photos, send information to our membership committee representative. Put new members on the R drive and photo of the flowers. I substituted as teacher in January for the Joseph Sunday school class once. Conference In Dallas: I attended a conference for clinical supervisors in Dallas. It was only a one day conference but was very helpful and informative. The latest laws, regulations and trends concerning professional counselors and supervisors were presented. Leadership Training: The presenters are just great! I have been attending the Tuesday night classes and the all day seminar. Great information. We are so blessed to have opportunities like this here in Midland and in our church. Sanctity of Human Life: The video and bulletin insert were excellent. We always want to stress that life begins at conception and that our God is a God of grace and mercy who forgives those who chose to have an abortion. Dr. Everett, Darrell Dunton and myself attended the St. Ann’s walk to Planned Parenthood. We didn’t actually walk but did stand outside PP for over an hour giving support to the peaceful, prayerful demonstration. Janabeth Cook: Has been such a blessing. She is a great organizer and relates well with individuals and couples who come for counseling. Unfortunately she will be leaving before this summer. David, her husband works for Conoco-Phillips and has been transferred to Houston. Very sad. Yes, she said she just had to go with him. So, I’m praying about a new ministry assistant.

EDUCATION MINISTRY January 2013 PAUL BYROM, MINISTER OF EDUCATION [email protected] 432-683-0603

information •

Minister  of  Young  Adults  and  Singles  Adults:  We  are  excited  to  announce  the  personnel   committee  calling  Moses  Caesar  to  this  position.  He  will  begin  ministry  with  us  February   13  and  serve  during  the  weeks  until  his  previous  speaking  commitments  and  fulfilled  on   weekends  in  February.  

•

Discipleship  classes  had  a  great  kick  off  despite  not  being  able  to  utilize  some  of  the   building  due  to  the  fire.  We  have  over  30  attendees  for  Financial  Peace  University.    

•

B.  H.  Carroll’s  program  on  our  campus  continues  to  see  good  signs  of  success.  The   Principled  Leadership  one  day  conference  provided  some  much  needed  training  for   leaders  as  well  as  recognition  and  support  of  B.  H.  Carroll  in  this  area.  The  Pastor  did  a   wonderful  job  putting  so  many  of  the  major  pieces  together  to  make  this  happen.      

•

We  began  to  see  Sunday  School  attendance  returning  and  filling  the  gap  after  the  fire.  January   proved  to  be  a  real  improvement  with  people  returning  and  new  members  joining.    

•

Sunday  School  August  Numerical  Summary   Avg. Attend SS year

Avg. Attend. Aug 2012

Avg. Enrolled

Avg. Attend.

2673

1469

103

103

105

47

47

47

120

120

113

0

0

0

2942

1738

Sunday School Main Campus Mission Midland Agape (Homebound)

1409

2624

Other Education Child Development Center Children's Day Out Enrollment Total

1678

1691 Month

Sunday School members joined the church Total visitors recorded  

‘9/11-8/12

13

118

390

5104

Sarah Arrambide Children’s Minister Exciting News! The Children’s Ministry offices have moved upstairs to room A200, which is Gene Hilburn’s former office. We are having lots of fun unpacking many, many boxes and putting everything in its place. It is very nice to have plenty of space for our things! I used to have a three drawer organizer under my desk and now have plenty of room to store what was in the organizer somewhere else. And…., I now have plenty of room for my LONG legs! The best part about the move however, is the fact that we are located in the children’s hallway!! One more thing….we now have a copy machine in the children’s resource room. Our Sunday School teacher, GA and RA leaders are thrilled about it! Sunday School Since the fire, our Sunday School attendance has decreased but thank God, it has gone up by 25 in the last two Sundays. Our Sunday School teachers are great at staying in touch with their students, especially the ones who are absent. We are all looking forward to having Sunday School and Worship in our building. We believe that attendance will definitely increase! GA’s and RA’s What a blessing it is to be part of a church that still has GA’s and RA’s. Wednesday evenings are so much fun. I thank God for our leadership in that area. I’m a Christian NOW! Class There are currently 12 children in grades 1-6 enrolled in the I’m a Christian NOW class. Thanks to Carol Reid, Lori Levea, Leslie Jones and Amy Vanderveer for serving as our teachers. I also want to thank Martin Jackson for providing security on Sunday evenings. VBS- June 10-14 Our grade level coordinators are working hard to recruit leaders in their area before Spring Break. So far, we are getting a pretty good response. Please pray that everyone who needs to step up to help, will do so soon. Thanks again for all you do for the Kingdom and this church body. It is a joy to serve our magnificent Lord in this ministry!!!

Lori Zettler Minister of Preschool Education Monday, February 5, 2013 Preschool Sunday school: The transition after the fire hasn’t been easy, but Preschool Ministry has some amazing volunteers who have stepped in and gone above and beyond their calling.

8:45am Sunday school has been a challenge for our volunteers and our families too. We have noticed a lower attendance…I know this is due to the fact we are off sight for Worship. I feel once we are all back in the new building we will be filled with families—and kids! My husband and I were able to attend service this past Sunday (first time I had been to Lee High). I observed many new families with young children who have yet to visit the church…we will be gaining many new members once we are back in the Worship center. How exciting! Mission Friends: Mission Friends has been great! The kids love hearing about the Missionary. Last month we learned about a Missionary named Jaques Avakian from Canada. We enjoyed French fries and gravy, corn, banana muffins, and more—some of the Avakian’s favorites! We even sent a birthday card to their son on his birthday. We will start learning about a new Missionary tomorrow. Children’s Day Out: CDO had a great month. It’s so fun seeing and hearing the kids each Tuesday and Thursday. I led their JAM Time today and go to share a Valentine with them, “God Loves Us”, while Paige and Shane were doing registration for next year with the parents of the kids who are enrolled this year and plan to return next year. Child Development Center: CDC has been working on mid year reviews. My son attends in a Four year old classroom. He is doing well and his teacher is great. It’s so nice to know we have wonderful, Christian leadership for our kids! VBS: Shane Dockrey and her girls did an amazing job on Sunday morning promoting VBS and saying “YES” to VBS. We attended the VBS Overview in Ft. Worth a couple of weeks ago. This year’s theme is going to be so much fun!!! Colossal Coasters (Facing Fear. Trusting God.) All Bible stories will be about Paul. We had our first Coordinator’s meeting last week and we are working heavily at recruiting volunteers and hope to have them in place by Spring Break! CBS: CBS is meeting each Wednesday. Kerry Hedgepeth (the Preschool volunteer leader) had a grandbaby last week, so I haven’t talked with her recently, but they all seem to be doing great. MOPS: I volunteered with MOPPETTES this past Friday in a three year old classroom. It was so much fun. These kids are great. I am so glad our community has MOPS for the moms and the kids too. It seems like an amazing program. Sarah, Amy, Bertha and I attended the BCGT Children’s and Preschool Ministry Retreat a few weeks ago. There were some amazing speakers and the time away to reflect and renew was wonderful. January was a busy month with getting back into the swing of things. We are blessed with great parents, great volunteers and even greater kids! Blessed to be a part of the Awakening happening right here in our church!

Christian Nichles Minister of Students * The month of February we are studying UPPER HAND in our Sunday morning small groups and helping students understand the various forms of Authority in their life and how to learn from them as well as maneuver as they shift growing up. * In 2013 the SM will run a common theme throughout what we do around Ekklesia. We will help students understand the church, its historical origins, it purpose, and especially where they fit into Gods plan for the church. We hope through this we will in part help address the current trends of church dropout rate of 18-21 year olds. This will also help prepare students for college and beyond as a Kingdom participant not just a church member. *Our college ministry continues to have consistent attendance and is beginning to enjoy times of fellowship outside of Sunday. The Johnsons and Cottons are providing tremendous leadership with this group and will be key in growing it moving forward. * IMPACT weekend was absolutely phenomenal. We had over 20 host homes, 120 students, and 80 different leaders involved in the weekend. Partnering w Fannin also was a great experience and we hope to keep close ministry ties as we move forward. Believing this weekend really was foundational as we as a church seek Awakening, it has served to launch a new heart and passion for reaching our city in our SM. Students are still serving and launching new ministry initiatives in order to share the hope of Christ in Midland. *When the school board was trying to move forward with moving 6 grade up to Jr high and with the growth of our 6 grade class here in children’s ministry, we had decided to make a separate Jr high and High school camp this summer that would provide a transition experience for upcoming 6th graders in a close location. However, after those changes didn’t emerge and GA camp is that same week, the SM staff had conversations with some 6th grade parents and they prefer to support GA camp. We have decided in order to maximize SM work force as well as be an advocate of our Children’s Ministry to combine camp as we have always done and take all 7-12 grade students to camp July 7-11 in Estes Park Colorado. PAIS Team Report The PAIS team served the IMPACT weekend very well. Not only did they teach various groups, but also they led the PRAY w IMPACT service the Thursday night before. They continue to mentor and pour into students each day and have been able to speak into students lives that the SM had not previously has success in doing. IN two weeks they will gather with all the PAIS teams from around the globe to train AND we just found out that PAIS Germany and Ghana are so encouraged by what they see here, they would like to come spend a week in March with us and learn things to implement in their areas! We continue to hear great things from schools, parents, and host families about the significant difference this team is making!

George Koehl Minister of Music Thank you very much for your ministry and leadership in our church. Your commitment to serving our Lord and His church is an encouragement to our members and a witness to our community. I am looking forward to being in our remodeled Sanctuary very soon and will enjoy being in our new “Home” after traveling to Midland Center and Lee High School to Worship for the last three months. I want to brag on our Sanctuary Choir, Worship Orchestra and Worship Band as they have practiced, prepared and presented beautiful Worship music in order for our congregation to Worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords each and every Sunday! They have also done an outstanding job of serving our Church as they set up stands, chairs, instruments and platforms for the choir, orchestra, etc. each week. I can’t say enough about these Music and Worship Ministry Volunteers. It is a pleasure to serve our Lord and His Church with them each week in Worship Leadership. Let me share with you about some of the opportunities that we are looking forward to in the next few weeks… February 24th – 8.25/11.05 am - Possible Worship Celebrations in the Sanctuary February 27th – 7.00 am - Midland Community Wide Prayer Breakfast March 10th – Time Change Sunday March 24th – Dedication Sunday March 24th-27th – Awake 7.14 Gathering – Midland Center March 31st – Easter Sunday and Lord’s Supper in the PM Service April 7th – 6 pm – Singing Women of Texas Worship Concert April 14th – Homecoming Sunday Thank you again for your prayers on my behalf as I battle my cancer. Your prayers and God’s grace have carried me and my family through this time of testing and challenge. The Lord Jesus is meeting my every need and answering your prayers for energy and health. Our God is faithful and He is Able! Ephesians 3.20-21; Romans 12.1-2

Bill Johnson and Hank Henry Missions Ministry Chin Baptist Church As you know, we’ve been working feverishly to help the Chin Church find their own facility. They have a great need for a place to have the youth meet on Saturday evenings between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. they also need a place for the women to meet on Sunday evening same time. Both groups will be 50-60 folks. There will be adults and children in both groups. Trinity Presbyterian is in the process of considering allowing the Chin Church to use their building. However, unless they waive their

established fees, the cost for the rooms needed will be $740/week. I have asked for consideration of waiving those fees. We’ll have an answer Friday. Also being considered is use of their Sanctuary for their Sunday services. Again, the set fees for that would be $250. The only reason that is being considered is the fact they would be using the building Saturday and Sunday evening already and might be more convenient for them. As a side note: Trinity is meeting this week with a realtor regarding the sale of their property. I have submitted the Chin Church for consideration to purchase the property. The committee chairman said they had until May 31st to dispose of the property. If they haven’t sold it by then, it will be turned over to the Presbyteriate who will then handle disposal of the property. Having said all that, if you are aware of any possible facilities either short term use or for future purchase, please let me know. Their current membership is approaching 300. I’m sure it’s frustrating to them to not be able to conduct meetings for their youth and women as needed. Their youth Sunday school leader will be meeting with Sara Arrambide to review how we conduct our Sunday school program and the materials we use. Christian is working on partnering with their youth and their ministry. Prayer-Walk and Distribution Around Lee HS What a great experience we had on Sat. Jan. 26th, in prayer-walking and distributing the God is Not a Hobby booklet around Lee HS. We also included bookmarks with an invitation to join us at Lee High the next few weeks and to join us in March as we move back into our remodeled sanctuary. Thanks to the almost 60 FBC members who came to be the hands, feet and words of Christ to that neighborhood! We distributed nearly 1400 booklets and prayed for every home from Wadley to Golf Course and Midkiff to Midland Dr. The entire outreach took only about 3 hours. Several residents opened their homes to our volunteers and had prayers lifted up for them as requested. We had many positive inputs on the day’s ministry. Would you consider helping us with another distribution around our church’s neighborhood on Sunday, Feb. 24th from 3 – 6PM? Local Food Ministry We are in the process of establishing 3 local food ministry programs. The first one involves preparation of weekend take home food packs for students at Sam Houston and Lamar elementary students. We’ll be working through the West Texas Food bank and the local school counselors. We’ll purchase to food from the food bank who will deliver it to us on Wednesdays. Our volunteers will prep the food packs and take them to the two schools for distribution on Fridays. The second ministry is somewhat similar in that we will be working with Kristal Cotton in preparing and distributing food packs at noon to students at Lee High and Midland High. The third ministry will be assisting Senior Services in preparing and delivering Meals-on-Wheels to elderly and handicapped on weekdays during the month of March. Announcements will be coming out via website, Banner, and director’s notes explaining the ministries and volunteer needs. Disaster Response Team/Procedures Hank is working with the Midland County American Red Cross disaster response coordinator in developing a plan for our church’s role in responding to any possible major disaster should on occur in the area, (the recent military/train accident is an example of such an incident). We have the facilities and are strategically located near

the hospital. One of the first places our own members would reach out to during a crisis situation would be our church. Hank has taken the Red Cross coordinator on a tour of our campus to give her a firsthand view of what we have in place so she can begin to help develop a plan of response. The goal is to have team members and plan in place to participate in a mock disaster next Fall. Salvation Army Expansion The Salvation Army now has funding to expand their facilities to help address the homeless/ low income housing availability in Midland. Hank has been asked to serve on their Board of Directors to develop and implement a plan that best responds to the immediate and future needs of these folks. This is something for which we have been praying and hoping for several years. New Regional Deaf Church The strategic Deaf Church Planting Team and the Deaf Believers affirmed unanimously to call Jim and Debbie Walterhouse as the Pastor/Church Planter for the New regional deaf church. The Walterhouses have served in Deaf ministry for nearly 30 years, having ministered nine years as missionaries to the deaf in Mexico. Debbie has been deaf since birth. Jim lost his hearing at age five from the measles. BGCT, FBC, four Big Spring churches and Crossroads Baptist Association will be the sponsors for this church. The vision for the new Deaf Church is for it to be a regional deaf sending church, planted in Big Spring near the campus of Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf—SWCID. SWCID is the only Deaf College in the world, with an enrollment of 150 students from all over the world! The church will be a regional church, in that it will be centered in Big Spring, the ethnographic center of the Deaf Community in West Texas, but will reach out to deaf in surrounding communities as well, especially during the summer months when there are fewer students at SWCID. There are deaf people in almost every West Texas community and no deaf church from Ft. Worth to El Paso. The church will be a sending church, in that it will be a place where deaf people (many from SWCID) can ‘hear’ the gospel in their heart language and then for 2+ years be trained/equipped to return to their home communities and other places around the world as deaf missionaries, pastors, and church leaders.