May 2011 Volume 22 Issue 5

Adam Miller Angela Wisley Mark Swigert

Brandon Gray Chase Hawes

It is difficult for the church to “close the back door.”

We have been plateaued in our numerical growth for five years, because we have lost as many members and attendees as we have gained. In talking with other churches, it appears that this is an

epidemic problem in the American culture.

While we know there is not a perfect church that everyone will attend, we have been seeing too many walk through the church

and decide they don’t want to be a part of SBC. There are many reasons that people don’t involve themselves in church. We see everything from apathy and unbelief on their part to lack of

friendliness, opportunity, and inclusiveness on our part.

Some will not continue with us because of worship style, doc-

trine, worship times and state of the art facilities. Others have

left because of disagreements with members or staff.

The solution will not happen without an intentional plan. We will need participation from the church family to remedy this problem. After much prayer, concern and study in the last year,

I am confident a major challenge is in the area of assimilation.

Assimilation is a process to acclimate and welcome newcomers and uninvolved church members into the worship, ministry and fellowship of the church. We have many guests come to our wor-ship services and some will continue quite a while, discerning if

we are friendly, inclusive, and enthusiastic about our faith.

I see us as friendly, welcoming and polite people. Frankly, I don’t see us taking the next step: a personal interest in guests, hosting them for the day of worship and Bible study, introducing them to others, and inviting them into our small group circle of

friends.

It is normal for each of us to cluster with our closest friends and we enjoy seeing them and spending time with them. The problem this creates is that the newcomers or uninvolved members find it difficult to be mentored, coached and involved because no one is willing to invest in them. I know that most of the ministry staff

can do better. I also know that the ministry staff can’t accom-plish this function on our own. Most of my pastoral ministry is reactive and I can’t take care of the 500 active attendees that we

have now.

In the near future, you will receive an intentional plan of ministry

addressing this problem. I will ask for your participation in one of three areas: new guests, members on the fringe, and new be-lievers. I will teach you what needs to be done. We will organize training and fellowship opportunities to help the process of as-

similation.

I have leaders, deacons and church members often ask what they can do to help our church or to help me. This IS the biggest bur-den I have and the biggest hurdle we face as a church. I hope eventually that assimilation would become a part of the culture and atmosphere of our church, something that we naturally do. I am prayerful about sharing this new ministry opportunity with

you.

Steve Boyd

Pastor’s Pen

The Bible teaches in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 that deacons

are to be proven as servants of God and servants of

the church family. Our church requires them to

spiritually-minded, attend Sunday School & worship

regularly, obediently tithe, and have been a

member for at least one year.

Deacons may be nominated only if they have previously

been ordained or have served as a yokefellow.

Yokefellows may be nominated with the above criteria.

They are not required to have been ordained or to

have served in the past. They must serve one year in

mentoring before consideration for deacon ministry.

The following deacons are ineligible for nomination

this year due to either rotating off or because they

are currently serving. Please do not submit the

following names for nomination:

Kathy Mansfield, Jill Sowder, Ronnie Sowder,

Randall Childers, Ralph Greenwell, Edith McGowan,

Dale Kramer, Mike Moore, Tim Renfro, Brian

Hunter, Keith Baker, John Vaughan, Steve Eden,

Cecil Jones

The following Yokefellows have served for the past

year and are recommended by the Deacon Ministry

team for nomination to serve as a Deacon:

Peter Shin, Chet Miller

************** Please note***************

Before nominating an individual, we ask that you

contact them before submitting a nomination

form on their behalf to see if they consider

themselves a candidate according to the above

requirements.

Family members cannot nominate one another.

All nominations forms must be signed.

Deacon Nomination Forms will be available from

May 1-22 at the Welcome Center. Forms may be

turned in to the church office or the collection

plate.

DEACON SELECTION: SUNDAY, JUNE 12

CHURCH FAMILY & Other stuff

Don’t see your name?

Let us know and we will add you.

Thursday, May 5

12-1pm

Service held in the Sanctuary.

We will have Shelby County community leaders guide us in prayer for our

government, the Church, our military, our families, education, media, and business.

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Child Dedication

Sunday, May 8

Contact Angie (by May 4) in the church office if your family would like to be included in this service.

1 Kelly Dugger, Evelyn Clark

3 April Lumbatis

4 Emma Hendricks

5 Jan Wallace, Melanie Furches

6 Kelland Garland, Lyla Lowe,

Dwayne Dillow

7 Dana Coffey

8 Connie Curry

9 Jack Stewart

14 Lexi Wentworth

15 Amber Brockway

16 Patty Wentworth

17 Abby Gowin

19 Shirley Ragan, Jordan Webb,

Taylor Webb

20 Amber Brown

21 Kathy Romine

22 Renea Sageser

24 Elizabeth Lay, Tracey Brink,

Meredith Lumbatis

25 Brandon Wentworth

26 Lora Evans, Steve Eden

29 John White, Addison Garland,

Emma Lipman

31 Nellie Garrison

Summer Events calendar

Missionfest fish fry– June 3

Beth Moore Event—June 10 -11

Deacon Selection– June12

CentriKid camp–June 13 -17

Eastern KY Mission trip —June 20 - 25

Crossings Student Camp— July 10 -15

Vacation Bible School— July 18 - 22

MISSIONS

Military Prayer List

We have several families with a loved one serving in the military. Please add these individuals and

their families to your daily prayer list.

Jesse Hunter, serving in Iraq-son of Brian Hunter

Terrance Shelburne, serving in Afghanistan-son of Doug & Sheila Shelburne

Sovan Chhan, serving in Afghanistan-son of Sovanna & Nem Meas Chhan

George Shreffler, serving in Afghanistan-son in law of Doris Cissell

Linton Sangster, leaving for Afghanistan in Oct.-nephew of Nathan Sangster

Send a note of encouragement! SPC Terrence Shelburne

Operation Enduring Freedom

4-25 FA

B Co 2-34 AR

FOB Azzizulah

APO AE 09370

LCPL Sovankiry Chhan

2d Battalion 8th Marines

G Co 2 Plt Unit 73240

FPO AE 09510-3240

New Ministry Opportunity:

Sunrise Children’s Homes The mission of SCH is to reach and care

for abused children and to give them

hope and a healthy, happy future.

What does it mean to help a child? It

means that someone cared enough to

open their heart and take them from

the cruelty they've endured and pro-

vide them safety, love and healing.

Your help enables them to do that. The

programs not only provide comfort and home, but also therapy,

medical care, clothing, food and everything a child needs to

become whole. Please consider supporting a child.

You can help in the following areas:

Donate: Visit www.Sunrise.org to donate online, or mail a

check to Sunrise Children's Services, P.O. Box 1429,

Mt. Washington, KY 40047.

Foster: Would you be willing to take a child into your home for

the short or long term? Sunrise foster parents receive reim-

bursement for expenses, free ongoing flexible training and

24/7 support. Call (800) 456-1386 or e-mail info@sunrise.org

Volunteer: Provide a group activity, individual tutoring, or

simple landscaping to help Sunrise's residential programs. Call

(800) 456-1386 or e-mail chills@sunrise.org to see where you

can get involved.

Bill Smithwick, who worships with us, is the president of

Sunrise Children’s Homes.

Prayer Blanket

Ministry

A prayer blanket is a special

symbol of faith in both God and

prayer. Each blanket is blessed

with prayer for a specific

person in need. A prayer

blanket wraps someone in crisis

with prayers of love and

healing.

JOIN IN Our ministry by making prayer

shawls, quilts or blankets, praying, or

with financial donations for materials.

Material donations of fleece, cotton

fabric, batting and yarn can be taken

to the Mission Cove.

Thank you to Susan Fenton for her

leadership in this ministry! Contact

her at 722-2733 to join the team.

When sending a note or card, use a regular first-class

stamp. If mailing packages, use the free APO boxes

from the post office. The prices are set regardless of the

weight of contents.

MISSIONS O

N T

HE

RO

AD

EASTERN KY

MISSION TRIP

JUNE 19-25

Trip cost is $25 each per night which includes lodging at mission sites and food. Non-refundable

payments are due by Sunday, June 5.

The Ken Hyde Team will be working at Mountain Community Fellowship building a deck, as well as

doing other construction and painting.

The Taylor/Clay Team (Rick & Dixie Taylor & Eddie & Anita Clay) will be working at Haven of

Rest.

VBS outreach for a local pool and church.

Children’s Festival on Friday, June 24th and Touched Twice Clinic June 25th.

Each night we will meet together for worship at a different mission. Thursday night will be our BIG

Revival at the Community Center in Inez with Dave Hammond speaking. Bring lawn chairs for each night.

Motels are available for those not staying in a mission house. We have a list available.

The above points give you an idea about the excitement brewing regarding our summer mission trip. Although

we have enough work for you for the entire week, you are not required to stay for the week. For more info,

please contact Linda Otterback at lindaotterback@insightbb.com Payments can be made in the church office or

with Linda.

ALC Baby

Bottle Campaign Pick up a bottle on

Mother’s Day. Fill it

with spare change (checks and bills are

ok, too!) Return it on Father’s Day.

ALC Pregnancy Resource Center uses

100% of these gifts to support their

ministries in Shelby County.

Mission Totes On Sunday, May 8 we will provide every family with a mission tote

bag to “go into all the world”. Each month we will offer an oppor-

tunity for you to fill your tote to provide for specific needs for our

community ministries. We would encourage you to also use the

tote as a witness while you are grocery shopping. Extra totes

can be purchased for $2 each-a sign up sheet and collection box

are located at the Mission Cove.

May Mission Tote Project: ALC Pregnancy Resource Center

Laundry & dish detergent, baby wash & shampoo,

NIV study Bibles in English & Spanish

EKY Meeting on Sunday, May 22 at 12 pm.

If the old saying is true, that “April showers bring May flowers,” then our month of May will be overflowing with buds and blooms and every kind of flower imaginable! And even though our Easter service was blessed by the rains, it did not over-whelm the praise that was offered up to God on that day. Thank you for being a part of that service and inviting your friends and family.

A big thank you to our praise choir for blessing us with song and reminding us of God’s victory over sin and death! I’m sure you noticed that we had some extra faces and voices with us on stage, and I want to tell the students that sang with us how much I appreciated their willingness to join with us in praise. Hopefully we can do more together! They were incredible!!

As we head into graduation time and into the summer soon, we are now taking a break from our choir rehearsals on Wednes-day nights. The choir has spent a lot of time on the music that we shared on Palm Sunday and Easter and after this break, we’ll come back together to start looking at music for the last part of the year. I’ll keep you all posted on when we’ll start rehearsing again and I would love for more people to join us!

As I think about all the plans we make for SBC and how God uses those and reshapes them for His glory, I am encouraged knowing that He is faithful to us, even when plans change and situations don’t go our way. This is a sad time for me, but also a time of celebration. By now you know that one of our dear friends and leaders here at SBC, Luke Wisley, has accepted a position of worship leader for the contemporary service at First Baptist in Shelbyville. Luke has been struggling with decisions about where God might be leading him, and he knew that God was preparing him for the ministry. Knowing that most of his family will soon be mov-ing to Indiana, Luke had prayed for direction and confirmation, and he’s seen God’s faithfulness in providing for him through this ministry position. Though I am saddened that he will not be leading with me on Sun-days, I am joyous that he has an opportunity to do what he’s wanted to do for a long time, and he knows we will be praying for him through this new journey. Plus he knows he always has a church home here at SBC! Congratulate Luke when you see him!

And as happy as I might be for Luke’s opportunity, it reminds me again that the church needs more guitarists and keyboard-ists and bassists and drummers to step up and serve. God can and will always be praised, with our without instruments. But I would surely miss hearing those instruments, wouldn’t you? If you play or if you know someone who might be interested, please contact me and we can walk through what might be involved in being a part of the Sunday morning band.

This seems to be the year of surprises and reminders. I was surprised with Luke’s ministry opportunity, and I’ve been reminded about the difference between our plans and God’s plans through our mission endeavors.

A mission trip to Japan for evangelism seemed inevitably on the horizon, but the devastating earthquake and following nuclear disaster has kept us at a standstill. Continue to remember Japan. As time passes, we often forget the extent of certain tragedies:

13,843 people were confirmed dead by Japan's National Police Agency, while 14,030 were missing.

About 136,481 people were in shelters around the country as of Monday April 18 following last month's disaster.

More than 70,000 people lived in the largely rural area within the 20 km zone. It is unclear how many of them have been evacuated, but most are believed to have left.

A total of 140,000 households in the north were still without electricity as of Sunday, Tohoku Electric Power Co said.

At least 220,000 households in eight prefectures were without running water as of early on Thursday, the Health Ministry said.

At least 81,447 buildings have been fully destroyed, washed away or burnt down The government estimates the material damage from the quake and tsunami alone could top $300 billion, making it by far the world's costliest natural disaster. These estimates from the end of April may continue to rise as more is discovered.

We still believe that we are to go to Japan at some point, and ministry there will mean more now that ever before. Whether we go near the end of this year or postpone the trip to next year, pray that God will lead us to do great things, big and small, for Him. We will keep you updated on the trip status.

We have a great mission field that is just a few hours away, as well, in eastern Kentucky, and on June 19-25 we will be taking a group from SBC to an area around Inez where we will be working with at least two different mission agencies and a new church plant. If you feel like God has been moving you to give of your time and go, this is the experience for you. We will need people with all sorts of skill sets, from construction and landscaping to helping with VBS and sharing Christ with others. Contact Linda Otterback at lindaotterback@insightbb.com if you are interested in going.

Matt Garner

MISSIONS

“Summersville Baptist Church was a church plant on the east side of Mt. Vernon. It was organized in 1945 from Park

Avenue Baptist Church. The church has had 17 pastors with the current pastor, Don Verhines, having served for 5 years.

Throughout its history, the church has experienced seasons of spiritual and numerical growth only to be limited by its facil-ity. In the last few years God has blessed our church again and in order to sustain this blessing, He has laid it on our

hearts to build a whole new church facility. We have been planning and working on this for over 2 years. In that time,

God has honored and blessed our efforts.”

Building Project: Brick laying for new church building. Families welcome!

Other Volunteer Teams Assisting in the Project:

Carpenters for Christ from Attalla, Alabama – June 6, 2011 to June 17, 2011 Tennessee Mission Builders (Electrical Crew), Smyrna, TN - June 16, 2011 to June 25, 2011 Marion County Alabama Mission Builders – July 11, 2011 to July 15, 2011

Volunteers are needed:

Prayer Walking Carpenter, painter, installing windows, etc. Brick Layers & helpers

Visitation Meal Preparation “Mud man”, striker

Sharing testimonies Carry water & snacks to brick team

Housing:

We will stay in an elementary school which is 7 miles from the worksite. It is a very easy drive from the school to the church. Plenty of bathrooms available at the

school.

Campers:

They will make arrangements for campers/motor homes at the worksite or the elementary school. There is a camp-

ground about 5 miles away. (more details later)

Kitchen/Meals:

There is a full size kitchen at the elementary school (7 miles away). We will probably cook all meals at the school and take breakfast and lunch to the worksite. We’ll eat at a pavilion at the elementary school adjacent to the

church property. Picnic tables are in the pavilion, and the church will provide serving tables for us. We’ll have the evening meal at the elementary school where we are staying (7 miles away). The church has a freezer we can use

and will supply ice for us twice a day.

Total cost: $75 (includes all food) Due Sunday, May 31

Signup at the Welcome Center if you are interested in this trip.

2011 Mission Trip Opportunity

Summersville Baptist Church, Mt. Vernon, IL

July 3-9

SUMMER DISCIPLESHIP

Beth Moore’s New Study

on Revelation

Begins

Thursday, May 12

6:30pm

Cost: $9

Facilitator: Amy Griggs

Sign up at the Welcome Center.

PERSONNEL TEAM UPDATE

Exciting News from the Personnel Team!!

We want to keep you informed with what is happening in the search for the new ministers.

Children’s Ministry: We started with over 50 applicants for the Minister of Children and Families . We

have trimmed the group down to 5 individuals. Per our commitment to the church, we have asked two

individuals who are involved with the Children’s Ministry, Cindy Lowe and Ralph Greenwell, to join

our team in the process of seeking the Children and Families Minister. We are currently meeting with

each candidate in the interview process.

Student Ministry: Two weeks ago we started our search for a new Student Minister. As of April 27 we

have received over 100 applications.

Please continue to pray for our team and the church as we continue to seek God's direction

and will in the choice of our new ministers.

Thank you to all those who are volunteering to help in each of these ministries. If you have

questions or concerns, please contact anyone on the Personnel Team: Dale Kramer, Kathy Mansfield,

Dale Sanford, Melissa Sangster, and Bob Scott .

PROPERTIES TEAM

BETH MOORE

REVELATION

The Property Team would like to take a

moment to thank all those who have helped to update our campus facilities.

The front foyer of the old sanctuary has a great new look with our added walls and doors. A new

ramp at the side door of the Fellowship Hall makes for easier transition to and from the Family

Life Center. Last, but not least, the chair rail and paint in the classroom hallways of the FLC look

fabulous. What a great addition!!

No one person can do all this alone. Thanks again to ALL who gave of their time and talents!

2nd Annual Youth &

Children’s Yard Sale

Saturday, May 14

8am-2pm Anyone wishing to donate items to

sell can bring them to church

May 8-May 12.

All proceeds from donated items will go towards

helping summer camp costs.

Stuff to do: Make payments by 5/22 – final payments due 6/22.

Chaperones & Students need to fill out Crossings medical form and

POI online at crossingscamps.org. Medical forms must be signed,

notarized and turned in to the church office no later than July 1.

CAMP THEME: WASHED

Prepare for camp by memorizing 1 Corinthians 6:11.

STUDENT MINISTRIES

Interim Student Ministry

Contacts

Administrative Coordinator

Jo Baker

Sunday School – Brent White

Sunday evening (Heart Burn)

Leslie Potter

Wednesday evening (IPODS)

Beth Stewart

Fusion 56 – Beth Stewart

On the Road (summer Wed.)

Jill Sowder

Summer Camp – Mike Moore

Camp Yard Sale – Shawn Mouser

FireFresh BBQ

Student Camp Benefit

Friday, May 20

5-8pm

Yard Sale Set Up Friday, May 13 6-9pm

Table fees: $10 each with a limit of 2 tables.

Registration is first-come-first serve.

Yard Sale procedures and guidelines information is available in the

church office.

Cost is a Pegasus Pin

which is $4.

Students must have a signed

permission slip in order to

attend.

Leave church at 2pm.

Parents contact Andy Potter at

994-3990 or

Andrew.Potter@hansens.com

to help with transportation.

Vacation Bible School

July 18-22

We are seeking leaders and helpers for:

Elementary & Preschool crafts, games, and snacks.

Decorating

Traffic Control

A sign up sheet with specific areas of need is located at the Welcome Center.

CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES

Parents: We need a male chaperone for the 2nd half of CentriKid

Camp ( July 15-17)

Contact Angie at ext 18 for more info.

Final Payments must be received by Wednesday, May 18.

Parents: Read the material you received at the Lock In!! It contains

forms that must be notarized and returned with your final payment

as well as a list of what to bring and what to expect. If you did not

receive an info packet, contact the church office (ext 18) immediately.

REMINDERS

Ministry

Involvement

Opportunity in our

Children’s Ministry

Toddler 2 Sunday School helper

Toddler 1 Sunday School teacher & helper.

Contact Denise Miller at ext 10 for

summer schedule.

Painters Needed!!

With a new Children’s Minister coming on

board, we would like to spruce up the office

with a new paint and decorating job.

Contact Angie in

the church office

if you would like

to help!

May 2011

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

Graduation Sunday

9am Worship

10:30am Sunday

School

1pm Hispanic Worship

12 pm Graduate

Luncheon

2pm Student Concert

2

6:30pm

Deacon

Meeting

3 4

9am Prayer

Group

6:30pm IPODS

5

12pmNational

Day of Prayer

6 7

8

Mother’s Day

9am Worship Child

Dedication

10:30am Sunday

School

1pm Hispanic Worship

9 10 11

9am Prayer

Group

6:30pm IPODS

12

6:30pm

MOPS

Beth Moore

13

4:30pm AHG

Student Yard

Sale Set up

14

Student Yard

Sale

15

9am Worship

10:30am Sunday

School

1pm Hispanic Worship

Centri Kid payments

due

16 17 18

9am Prayer

Group

Centri Kid final

payments due

6:30pm IPODS

19

6:30pm

Beth Moore

20

5-8pm

FireFresh

6pm AHG

21

22

9am Worship

10:30am Sunday

School

1pm Hispanic Worship

2pm People to People

Deacon Nomination

Forms Due

23 24 25

9am Prayer

Group

6:30pm IPODS

26

6:30pm

Beth Moore

27 28

29

9am Worship

10:30am Sunday

School

1pm Hispanic Worship

30

Memorial Day

Church office

closed

31

You are cordially invited to a retirement celebration for

Linda Kerr, Adventure Club Director

Sunday, June 5 2-4pm

Linda has been teaching/directing for a total of thirty-three years. The first seventeen of those

were at First Baptist Church Preschool and the later sixteen at Adventure Club. She has also

taught Sunday School for both adults and children for many years.

During her directorship of Adventure Club, Linda raised $20,000 for both St. Jude’s and Kosair’s

Children’s Hospitals. She began raising funds for Kosair’s specifically when Hanna Evans, one

of her four year old preschool students, became ill with a Wilm's tumor.

Since its inception in August 1995, Adventure Club has had more than 1,000 students come

through their program.

Top 5 things Linda will do following retirement!

Stay out of Larry’s way at home. Daytime has been his territory alone since his retirement in 2004.

Spend more time alone reading, walking and praying.

Enjoy more time with family.

Look for more areas to volunteer.

Try to sleep past 5:15am!

In lieu of gifts you may contribute to the Preschool scholarship fund..

Simpsonville Baptist Church

P.O. Box 56

Simpsonville, KY 40067