Pastor’s Passage

Hello TBC Family! Well, we’ve begun a new year, and already

had some large hurdles to overcome. Losing people close to

you impacts everyone in the family, not just the closest rela-

tives. Like a mobile, (the ones we made as kids) when one

string is pulled on, every other part of the structure adjusts to

the upheaval. My thanks to all that have helped our body to

begin to heal. As we have discussed in service, and was laid

out in my January 3rd Vision setting message, we have many

things to accomplish for the kingdom this year. Besides all the

activity now happening in our Youth and Children’s ministries,

we have physical changes we need to address in 2016. We are

one of the best kept secrets in Bedford County. With thousands

of cars passing by our property each and every day, they’d nev-

er even know we’re here. I need a person, people, or group to

lead a charge to get a sign placed on our slope that faces Rt.

460. For a little over one thousand dollars we can get a banner

sign, lay it on the slope, secure it with very sturdy anchors, and

welcome the folks passing by to get to know us, and to come

hear a message of hope found only in Jesus Christ.

We have begun and will continue a 2 to1 ratio of focus out-

side the walls of TBC, to inside the walls of our church. On

Jan 31st, a focus group comprised of anyone who wishes will

help establish a Blue, Red, and Yellow team within our

church. EVERY person will belong to one of those three

teams. One team’s purpose is to find ways to better utilize

our campus to the service of Bedford, and the glory of Jesus

Christ. Other team will establish a disaster assistance and re-

lief organization to serve the surrounding community and

bring glory to Our Lord, and the final team will focus internally

on serving the MEMBERSHIP of TBC. We are called to serve

widows and orphans in our local church. You are in our local

church if you have pledged your covenantal membership to

the body. If you are not a member, please consider member-

ship today. Contact one of the Deacons or me at any time.

This is just one of MANY new things that TBC is doing. What

is the same, and always will be is the dedication to preaching

the Word, and focusing on the only One who saves, Jesus

Christ. Talk to you soon (and I’ll see you on Sunday) Pastor

Mark since ‘64

TBC STUDENTS From the OUTLET

Things are really hopping in the youth department. The New

Year has brought some new faces and some returning faces to

the youth department. As we took time to catch our breath

from our Winterfest retreat, we jumped right in to the next big

event. We will be going to the Creation Museum during the week

of spring break. In youth group we have been focusing on the

biblical foundation of creation and why it is important to under-

stand creation as it is presented in the Bible. The youth are de-

veloping their ability to defend God’s word on creation to a

world that tells them it is all just a fairy tell. In Sunday school

we are wrapping up the Doctrine series by Frances Chan with a

look at sin and salvation. We have other events on the horizon

also including, Wednesday night dinner on January 27, Super

Bowl party on February 7, and the Sweetheart dinner on Febru-

ary 14, and in the summer of 2016, (July 18th- 23rd) a mission

trip to Nashville, Tennessee. Please be in prayer for our youth

as they grow in their faith and service to the Lord.

Youth Ministry

TBC Kids—Children’s Hallway

What a wonderful start to the New Year. In Sunday School

the children have been working through a curriculum

called there’s a verse for that. This series takes a look at

different real like issues that the children encounter in

their daily lives. It then offers a verse that allows them to

connect biblical principles to their feelings and reactions. In

children’s worship we have been looking at the biblical les-

sons on self-control and are beginning to prepare for our

time to offer special music during adult worship. Wednes-

day nights has seen the introduction of Children in Action.

This series will teach the children about missionaries, both

state side and foreign. As always we are looking for volun-

teers that can accentuate the programs the children are

working in. Come give it a try and you might get hooked.

Children’s Ministry

POTLUCK LUNCHEON Thursday, February 4 @ Noon

Join the Young At Heart for a potluck

luncheon in the Café. If you are “young at heart”, bring a dish and

come enjoy great food, fun and fel-lowship!

February 7

8 AM

Join the Thaxton Baptist men for prayer breakfast in the Café. It’s a free, hot breakfast, fellowship and prayer leading up to Sunday School. The breakfast is

open to all men.

BUILDING RELATION-SHIPS TEAM SCHEDULE

Feb. 7 Ed & Irene Nickols

Feb. 14 Becki Robertson & Joyce Zdenek

Feb. 21 David & Faye Grant Feb. 28 Mike & Vicki Martin

Mar. 6 David & Teresa Norcross

Mar. 1 Ralph & Carol Patterson

Mar. 20 Bernice Leftwich & Judy Danby

Mar. 27 Jimmy Cundiff & Carl Saunders

Apr. 3 E.L. & Karen McGuire

Apr. 10 Gail Wilcher

Apr. 17 Cliff Overstreet & Dack McKinney

Apr. 24 Bill Shepherd & Greg Wood

Apr. 31 Randy & Dina Krantz

May 1 John & Melody Dooley

May 8 Robbie Catron

May 15 Dennis & Shelby Overstreet

May 22 Alan & Krystal Hullette

Young At Heart Potluck Lunch-

eon Thursday, Feb. 4 @ Noon Men’s Prayer Breakfast Sunday, Feb. 7 @ 8 AM Children’s Outing to Bounce About in Lynchburg Sunday, Feb. 7, Noon-4:30 Deacons Meeting Monday, Feb. 8 at 7 PM Rejuvenate—Songfest Saturday, Feb. 13 @ 6 PM Sweetheart Dinner (Youth Fund-

raiser) Sunday, Feb. 14 at 6 pm Church Council Meeting Monday, Feb. 22 @ 7 pm

Inca empire was reduced to just a handful of stragglers. Then came the European

diseases which the local population had no immunity built up in their bodies to

fight off the effects. In a few years there was just a remnant of individuals who

mixed with the Quechua population to become the people that we met and worked

with in Chota. The evidence of the mighty Inca empire can still be found through-

out the Andes from the cities they built like Cusco and Machu Pichu to irrigation

works , many times cut into solid stone, to a road system that allowed easier and

faster access from one end of the empire to the other. Their construction methods

rival that of the Egyptians with their ability to cut, shape and move huge rocks for

buildings and the Romans with the irrigation and road building. On a mountain

just above Cajamarca there is a spring that produces an abundance of cold clear

water. We followed that stream for several hundred feet from its source along an

aqueduct that the Inca had constructed. The idea was to get the water from the

mountain to the city itself. The Inca had carved the aqueduct into solid rock in

places and then we would find elevated sections where the water was directed

across small valleys by way of stone bridges. At steeper sections the water had a

baffle system that would still the water as it dropped to reduce splashing that

could cause volume loss.

At this point you might be wondering what does this have to do with missions. I

believe that it is important to try to have an understanding of the people and their

history. When Pizarro entered the region in the 1532 he brought death and destruc-

tion but also brought his priest with their brand of Christianity, the Catholic

Church. Can you imagine how the local population felt about being converted to

this new concept of religious belief? I believe that our approach should be more

like Paul as he went into Athens when he saw their statue to the unknown God. He

didn't scold them for such a belief but told them “ let me introduce you to that

God” – the God we worship and have a personal relationship with today. My first

time in Cajamarca that I described earlier in the article happened about ten years

earlier than our work in the region. But that short trip then and what we learned

helped prepare me for the trip to Chota.

Next month.................... Evangelizing in Chota

JOURNEY INTO MISSIONS By Don Slusher

Some History of the Area

I looked up the steep slopes of the mountain that we were traveling along the base

of and saw a fairly large fire burning in a patch of woods high up on one of the moun-

tain ridges. I was thinking that I hope we don't go up as high as that fire appeared to

be. In a hour or so later we were looking down on the fire from our vehicle and we

were about as high above it at that point as we were below it when we first spotted it.

We then continued to climb for another hour to reach the crest of the mountain. Such

is the travel in the Andes. After crossing the crest we could then see a beautiful high

mountain valley and a city within it, the city of Cajamarca at almost 9,000 feet above

sea level. We dropped off the top of the mountain down into the valley and spent the

next couple of days exploring and enjoying the culture and history of the area. The

city and its surroundings have been occupied by several cultures for more than 2000

years. During the period between 1463 and 1471, Tupac Inca conquered the area and

brought Cajamarca into the Inca Empire. At the time, it was ruled by Tupac Inca's fa-

ther Pachacuti. In 1532 Atahualpa defeated his brother Huáscar in a battle for the Inca

throne in Quito (in present-day Ecuador). On his way to Cusco to claim the throne

with his army, he stopped at Cajamarca. Francisco Pizarro and his 168 soldiers met

Atahualpa here after weeks of marching from Piura. The Spanish Conquistadors and

their Indian allies captured Atahualpa in the Battle of Cajamarca, where they also mas-

sacred several thousand unarmed Inca civilians and soldiers, out of a ceremonial army

of 80,000, in an audacious surprise attack of cannon, cavalry, lances and swords. Hav-

ing taken Atahualpa captive, they held him in Cajamarca's main temple. Atahualpa of-

fered his captors a ransom for his freedom: a room filled with gold and silver within

two months. Although having complied with the offering, Atahualpa was brought to

trial and executed by the Spaniards. This event was the beginning of the end of one of

the most inventive, creative civilizations to have ever existed in the Americas. The In-

ca had not experienced the explosions made by the fire sticks (muskets) of the Span-

iards or for that matter the animals that they were riding on. In short order the once

mighty armies of the

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2

3 5:30 Dinner

6:30 Bible Study & TBC Kids

7:30 Choir Practice

4 Noon—Young At Heart Potluck Luncheon

5

3:00 pm Deacon Retreat

6

Deacon Retreat Training

7 8 AM Men’s Prayer Breakfast

*Noon-4:30 Chil-dren’s Outing to Bounce About

8

7 PM Deacons Mtg.

9

10 5:30 Dinner

6:30 Bible Study,

Youth Group & TBC

Kids

7:30 Choir Practice

11

12

13 6 pm Rejuvenate

14

6 pm Youth Fund-raiser—Sweetheart Dinner

15 16 17 5:30 Dinner 6:30 Adult Bible Study,

Youth Group & TBC

Kids

7:30 Choir Practice

18

19

20

21

22

7 pm Church Council Mtg.

23

7 pm Community Center Mtg.

24 5:30 Dinner 6:30 Adult Bible Study, Youth Group & TBC Kids

7:30 Choir Practice

25

26

27

28 29

1: Bud Dinwiddie & Cindy

Lawhorn

2: Melissa Bryant

4: David Wilcher

5: Debra Ellis

7: Maryann Overstreet

8: Beth Catron

9: Kathy Saunders

12: Frances King

13: Suzy Gore

15: Jimmy Cundiff, Jr.

17: April Lynn Kelly, Tim

Salyer & Sherri Wood

18: Helen Overstreet, Laura

Menth

19: Bill Turpin & Mary Bo-

itnott

20: Anne Clay McClung &

Becki Robertson

22: Carolyn Matthews

24: Richard Hamilton, Beth

Lawrence &

George Anderson

25: Kayley Johnson & Emma

Tibbs

26: Betty Jo Arthur Maxfield

27: David Danby, Dolphine

Swofford & Ryan Stevens

28: JoAnn Willis & Jennifer

Smith

11: Larry & Bonnie

Moncada

14: Johnny & Teresa

Hatcher

February 7 February 14 February 21 February 28

S.S.

Greeters David & Faye Grant John & Melody Dooley

Chuck Wheeler &

Mike Martin

Gail Wilcher &

Cindy Lawhorn

Ushers

and

Greeters

Robbie Catron, Jake Catron, David Norcross, Teresa Norcross, Greg Wood, J.D. Smith, Mike Martin &

Stewart Grant

John Dooley, Scott Smith, Dack McKinney, Matt Saunders, Norris Ful-

ton, Chuck Wheeler, Jimmy Over-street & Wesley Overstreet

J.D. Smith, Greg Wood, David Nor-cross, Teresa Norcross, Chuck

Wheeler, John Dooley, Wesley Over-

street & Scott Smith

Robbie Catron, Jake Catron, David Grant, Stewart Grant, David Grant,

Tucker Grant, Will Grant & Mike Mar-tin

Van

Drivers Bill Shepherd Bill Shepherd John Dooley John Dooley

Clean

Road

Worker

Joyce Zdenek Wayne Lawhorn Barbara Catron Jane Grant

Deacon

in Prayer Carl Saunders Angelina Smith J.D. Smith Robbie Catron

Infant,

Walker/

Pre-

school

Workers

Infants:

Jenny Krantz & Nancy Yates

Walkers/Preschool:

Tommy & Brandy Botteicher

Infants:

Emily Stevens &

Kelly Harmony

Walkers/Preschool:

Angelina Smith &

Jessica Gonzalez

Infants:

Kim Tolley &

Janet Linger

Walkers/Preschool:

Traci Jefferson &

Margaret Sperrazza

Infants:

Pam Sheppard &

Barbara Bauer

Walkers/Preschool:

Judy Danby &

Becki Robertson

Chil-

dren’s

Worship

Ed Nickols, Tracy Jefferson &

Dina Krantz

Ed Nickols, Traci Jefferson &

Margaret Sperrazza

Ed Nickols, Robbie Catron &

Becky Lugar

Traci Jefferson, Nikki Garten &

Norris Fulton

W/C Greet-

ers Parking Ed Nickols

Dack McKinney &

John Dooley

Tony Fisher &

Jimmy Overstreet

Ralph Patterson &

Mike Martin

Worship Time

Greeter David Grant Ralph Patterson Norris Fulton George & Cindy Lawhorn

Release. Refresh. Reach.

As we go through our busy lives work, people, and all of our responsibilities begin to catch up with

us. Join us February 13th at 6 pm here in the Worship Center for a service of Rejuvenation. Live

modern music from "Access Worship" combined with scripture and a praise atmosphere helps us

to release our stresses and sins and to refocus our eyes on the Lord. He has a plan for all of us and

we just need to keep our eyes on him and he will light our path.

Release your burdens and sins.

Refresh your faith.

Reach those who need Him in their life.

Featuring "Access Worship" playing songs by Switchfoot, Skillet, Flyleaf, Owl City and other wor-

ship artists.

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The Business Meetings are now held quarterly. The next Business Meeting will be on Wednesday, March 9 at 5:00 pm in the Worship Center.

ONLINE GIVING Online Giving is now available at thaxton-baptist.org.

Click on “online giv-ing”, complete and click “submit”.

You can also view the Newsletter (or sign up to receive it electronically), Sermons, Calendar and sign up to receive Prayer

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