First Baptist Church of Hopewell

401 N. Second Avenue

Hopewell, VA 23860

804-458-2752

Website: fbchopewell.org

Email: info@fbchopewell.org

First Baptist Church of Hopewell

celebrates

First Baptist Church of Hopewell

celebrates

Friday, February 8, 2019

STATE OF THE CHURCH

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

In the life of every organization, there is a need to look up from the busy

pace of activity and evaluate where it has been and strategize where it needs

to go. The same is true for the church.

In the last few years we have made a few additions and minor changes as laid out

in a State of the Church address in May of 2013. We are certainly past due for a

revisit of that overview and the presentation of a strategic plan moving forward.

There are some changes coming to our immediate neighborhood as a

church, bringing more residents into the downtown area. The area is taking

on a more vibrant commercial life as well. These are great opportunities for

us, but we need to be prepared to take advantage of those opportunities and

position ourselves to be visible body of Christ committed to love God, love

others, make disciples, and serve the world. On Wednesday evening, February 6th, 6:15 p.m., we will have a State of the

Church address and discussion that hopefully will set the course for the next year

or more by examining our strengths and weakness, opportunities and threats.

Personally, I truly believe this church has a bright future, but only if we claim it

and lean into it in keeping with the desires of the Head of the Church.

So please continue to pray for First Baptist Church and plan on joining us

for this meeting in the sanctuary to humbly seek Christ’s design for building

this part of His Church.

See you Sunday,

Pastor Darrell

February 2019

February 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th Adult Bible Study 6:15 p.m.

February 3rd H3 Dinner 6:00 p.m.

February 6th

Café will be CLOSED

State of the Church 6:15 p.m.

February 8th Night to Shine

February 10th

WEE School Sunday 11:00 a.m.

(No Early Service)

Singspiration at Hopewell Church

of the Nazarene 4:00 p.m.

Senior Adult Book Study 6:00 p.m.

February 13th

Café Reopens

February 15th – 17th Youth Retreat at Camp Kehukee

February 17th

H3 Dinner 6:00 p.m.

Senior Adult Book Study 6:00 p.m.

February 24th

Senior Adult Book Study 6:00 p.m.

· · · · · · · · · · · · We anticipate the Wednesday Night

Dinner Café will reopen on February 13th. Check bulletin weekly for openings.

Deadline for March Newsletter:

Friday, February 22nd at 5:00 p.m.

See the church calendar (Feb./March)

included or on the church website) for a

listing of all FBC activities & events.

From the Pastor

Upcoming Events

Hey all you cool cats, greasers, and hipsters! Don’t be a party pooper, make sure you’ve got Sunday, May 19th on your calendar for the FBC 2019 Spring Musical – “At the Hop.” Get on the horn and tell all your friends to be here ‘cause we’re gonna have a peachy keen time listening to all the cool ‘50s sounds. Be there or be square – it’s going to be a wicked cool time!

THE YOUTH CORNER

YOUTH MINISTRY: The year kicks off with a 3-day winter retreat at Camp Kehukee exploring

the importance of “The Pause”: unplugging the electronics and spending time with God. The youth

will conduct local mission projects in the spring in preparation for their mission trip in August. The

youth will also do fall mission projects in the community as a follow-up to what they experienced

during the mission trip. We will catch a baseball game on Faith Night at the Diamond in May. This

will be followed in June by recognizing our graduating seniors and at the end of the month going to

Kings Dominion for Kingsfest and attending the Christian Music concert. Something new this year is

hosting mission groups coming to the Hopewell area spreading His love and hope to the region. We

are planning for two such opportunities. Late in the fall/early winter a couple of fun activities

skating and partying. Finally, all budgets have a miscellaneous line, but ours is focused on fellowship,

outreach, and helping those in need.

CHILDREN MINISTRY: To grow the ministry, you must have a focus and plan to make it happen.

Our Children’s Ministry Team has a focus, and it is to build the children’s understanding of Love

God, Love Others, Become Disciples, and to Serve Others. What a great mission and focus. So how

will this be accomplished? With the following: The SPROUTS materials and opportunities is

awesome. SPROUTS meet on Sunday evenings and this is a great time to grow and learn about God’s

love. We have a lock-in planned (this is not like a youth group lock in) that will give the children an

opportunity to come together on a Friday night for activities and focus, sleep in their own bed, and

then come back for a Saturday morning focus and mission project. The children will have winter and

fall mission projects (Serve Others), which will help them prepare for a mission trip this summer.

Sports Camp Ministry is on the calendar and something new this year is an Arts and Crafts Camp

Ministry (refocused VBS, more to follow on this). Then of course we have our fun times: WEE

School Sunday, Easter Egg Hunt, Harvest Festival, and Jesus’ Birthday.

YOUTH STUDY: The 6th-8th graders Sunday School focus is Jesus – His Miracles: Peace and the 9th-12th

grades continue the “Unstoppable Gospel,” a study of the exciting early days of the church and what made

the early church so powerful – so unstoppable. The Youth Group will dig into confirming our relationship

with God.

GATHERING OPPORTUNITIES:

Sunday School: February 3, 10, 17, 24 @ 10 a.m. – 2nd floor of Education Wing

Youth Group: NEW TIME – Begins at 6 p.m. (unless special time noted below)

Wednesday Night Dinners: Youth and SPROUTS Lead: May 30th

Night to Shine on February 8th

Winter Youth Retreat: The planning has begun for the Youth Winter Retreat at Camp Kehukee

February 15-17, 2019.

THE PLAN: Several months ago, I met with youth and children’s

teams to develop a ministry plan to cover 3 years, 2019 to 2021.

We explored areas to invest, explore, and grow our younger church

members. Then we did research to arrive at actual costs based on

the plan. We submitted our plans for the youth and children as our

part to the overall church budget. On January 16th at the

quarterly business meeting our requests were approved using the

base budget funding line and re-alignment of designated funds. To

the church family – THANK YOU!! So, what’s the plan for 2019?

Glad you asked, the following summarizes our focus for the year.

Adult Handbell Choir

Unfortunately, the Adult Handbell Choir rehearsals

have been cancelled and discontinued due to lack of

interest. We hope to begin rehearsals again in the

fall, but we need RINGERS, so spread the word if

you want to hear the bells again!

- - - - - HELP WANTED! - - - - - We need help in our 3 year old Sunday School class!

We have a teacher but need someone to help

with this class. If you are willing to help, please

text or call Tony Hopkins 804-896-3731 or

Brenda Reid 804-414-7679 or the church office.

Interested in technology? If you’re interested in

serving on the Technology Resources Team

(computer support, sound support for programs…)

contact George Starke or the church office.

Wednesday Night Dinners– If anyone is interested

in hosting a single Wednesday Night Dinner in the

coming months, please call the church office to get

on the calendar. Dinner can be cooked on-site or

brought in (think BBQ, chicken, pizza, potato bar,

chili, soup/salad, subs…).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Carole White Gospel Tribute Concert Event

The Concert was a huge success! A large

crowd enjoyed an evening of great

entertainment from a group of incredibly

talented people. Thanks to the generosity

of the attendees, $1,800 was raised for

FBC’s Night to Shine. Many thanks to

those who made the evening possible and to

those who attended and supported the

event and Night to Shine!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Singspiration Join in the fun for the community-wide

Singspiration!

Sundays as listed at 4:00 p.m.

Feb. 10th – Hopewell Church of the Nazarene

Mar. 10th – First Congregational Christian Church

Apr. 7th – City Point Restoration Church of God

May 5th – First Baptist Church of City Point

FBC Maintenance

Just like at home, things around FBC get broken and/or

need to be repaired. If you see something that needs to

be fixed, please let us know! Maintenance Request

Forms (blue) are available on the bulletin board in the

volunteer office/copy room or from the church office.

If you see something that needs attention, please fill out

a form and put it in the Church Maintenance mailbox

or return it to the church office.

“At the Hop” Spring Musical Practice

Sundays 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

February 10, 17, 24

March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31

April 7, 14, 28 (Dress Rehearsal)

May 5 (Dress Rehearsal)

As Needed: May 9, 16, 17

Mary Jo Dailey , Minister to Senior Adults PrimeTimers. I think that moniker captures the spirit of senior adults at FBCH. Most of us have reached that point in our lives where we are the ones who have the most say over what we do with our time. What better time to seek God’s plan for our days? If you’re 50+, retired or working, and want to join us, come on!! February holds several opportunities at FBCH:

Night to Shine – Our church will be the host for this wonderful event.

If you have time and love to share, join us from 4:00-8:00 on Friday, February 8th.

Book Study - Our PrimeTimers’ weekly book study picks back up at 6:00 on Sunday on February 10th in the church

parlor. We had a great group at our last meeting as we discussed “The American Dream.” Our topic on the 10th will be

“So, You Want to Be a Martyr??” The book is Rethinking Retirement: Finishing Life for the Glory of God. If you’d like a copy

just let me know.

Prayer Shawl Ministry – This is not a PrimeTimer’s ministry per se, but many of our number are in the church

parlor on Thursdays at 1:00. I could barely tie my shoes, but these folks have taught me to crochet (almost)!

And don’t forget… Our trip to SeniorFest at Chowan University is on March 26th. We’ll leave the church at about

7:00 a.m. and return around 4:00 p.m. For more information, check out the Chowan website at

https://www.chowan.edu/events/seniorfest-2019

Mary Jo

Guard ian Ange l s for the Month of February

Sunday, February 3rd 8:45 a.m. Infants – 5 Years Betty Rose & Charlie Hughes

11:00 a.m. Infants – 5 Years Betty Hill, Pete Nicholson

Sunday, February 10th 11:00 a.m. Infants – 3 Years Debbie Hafner, Rebecca Vasquez

11:00 a.m. 4 – 5 Years Donna & Bill Howell

Sunday, February 17th 8:45 a.m. Infants – 5 Years Michelle Parr, Jenna Minor

11:00 a.m. Infants – 5 Years Kim Saunders, Joseph Pelter

Sunday, February 24th 8:45 a.m. Infants – 5 Years Nan Frink, Christine Weston

11:00 a.m. Infants – 5 Years Nancy & Joseph Pelter

WEE SCHOOL SUNDAY Sunday, February 10th at 11:00 a.m.

One of the most exciting times of worship we have every year is our WEE School Sunday, where we recognize our staff and students of this great ministry of the church. Students and their families join us for this celebration of life and appreciation of this educational opportunity.

On Sunday, February 10th, we will host the annual WEE School Sunday. There will be only one service that morning; it will be at 11:00 a.m. After decades of offering the traditional worship during this time, this year we will highlight the contemporary worship in our fellowship. Hopefully, our guests will see that First Baptist is a diverse and progressive congregation that offers variety and diversity to meet their spiritual needs, as well as fellowship opportunities with like-minded believers and those who are still seeking.

Please join us for this special service as we show our gratitude to our WEE School staff and welcome and honor our students and their families.

Would you like to visit the Museum of the Bible?

The Sunday School Department is planning a field trip to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC on Saturday, August 24, 2019.

The plan is to depart from the church at 7:00 a.m., arrive at the museum about 10:00 a.m., leave the museum at 2:30 p.m. and return to the church at about 5:30 p.m.. We will be taking a 55 passenger chartered bus. The cost will be approximately $42 for adults which includes transportation and a ticket for the museum. Children (age 5-11) will be approximately $37. Lunch will be on your own. There are places to eat in the museum. For more information about the museum visit: https://www.museumofthebible.org/.

If you are interested in reserving a seat on the bus please contact Brenda Reid via email gramreid3@gmail.com or text (804)414-7679. Please include your name, number of seats you might want, and your contact number or email. This is for planning purposes and does not obligate you to go. Please respond by Sunday, February 10th.

……………………

Attention FBC Kids: Did you know that a special Children’s Bulletin

is available for you each Sunday? Each week we have two Children’s Bulletins – one for younger kids and one for older kids. The bulletin is full of games, puzzles, word searches, dot-to-dots,

and other fun ways to learn about God, Jesus, and the Bible. AND…they usually tie directly in with Pastor Boggs’ message for the day. You’ll have fun doing Bible related activities while you listen and look for

how Pastor Boggs talks about the stuff in your special bulletin. Grab a Children’s Bulletins in the vestibule or ask an usher where to find one.

So bring a pencil, pen, or crayon and jump in to learning about God!