Sunday, September 23, 2007

As I begin this note, I remind you that this goes out to all those from our church (who have email and internet access) as well as just as many outside our church who are interested in our ministries here at Faith, or are friends / family of the Workman family and want updates as to what we are doing and how it is going. Thank you all for allowing me to accomplish a few things at one time (always good) by doing all these things in one "swoop."

With the title of this issue "September 23" I am reminded to wish our son, Joshua, a Happy 22nd Birthday this Sunday! Wow, where has the time gone? Please pray for him as he is in his important senior and final year at Baptist Bible College, PA and looking forward to the next steps of life and ministry after this school year.

Our fall season of Adult Bible Fellowships and Sunday School for kids at 9:30 am has gone very well with great attendance. I know that our Ladies "Seeking Him" and our "Men's Fraternity" electives have grown in attendance each week. It is still not too late for any of you to get involved with these or any other ABF (two more from which to choose.) And it is always a blessing as I "walk the halls" during this hour and listen to the teaching being given to our teens and kids in their classes. Thank you, teachers for this important work and being faithful to it.

We completed our look at 2 Corinthians last Sunday - if you would like to hear any of the sermons in it go to : http://fbcstreetsboro.podbean.com/ and you can listen or download them to listen later. I apologize for the length of the last one, but I really wanted to finish the series last week, so thanks for "hanging in there." And pray that I don't review so much in the future.

This Sunday in our 10:45 am Worship Service we will begin a new series under the general idea of "Stewardship." For the next few weeks we will look at various scriptures as we consider the wide range of what management / stewardship in our lives toward God is all about. Sure, we will address the money issue, but I think there are many other related areas, some even more important than money. This Sunday we will consider "Being a 'STEWARD' with What God Gives Us" which will serve as some introductory thoughts about the subject while giving us some challenging ideas from the Bible (Proverbs in particular) to apply to our lives. Come prepared.

Our evening programming at 6:00 pm continues to be a great blessing to all who attend. Our Adults were blest by the first video in the series "The Best Question Ever" by Andy Stanley. Some good applications were made in our lives through our brief discussion that followed it - don't miss it this Sunday. Our AWANA children and leaders are having a wonderful start to a new season also. It is still not too late to have your kids involved. Our student ministry will continue their series, "Dares from Jesus" and this week will consider "Go Long - the Truth About Investing" from Matthew 6:19 - 21 (hey, sounds like it will fit well with our morning series!) Pray for Dennis and Barb McMichael as they lead our students in thinking long range - hard for teens to do!

Some of you have noticed in the local newspapers that our church will be the host site for the 25th Anniversary Silver Jubilee Quilt Show, which is actually sponsored by the Streetsboro Quilt Guild. They sought our facility this year because they anticipate a record turn out, as well as the fact that we provide the kind of ADA equipped facility they desire. Plus with our gym and kitchen arrangement, it was ideal for them. So, there could be 1,000 or more who will be going through our building October 5 & 6 (who knew that many were into quilting! - why did the ladies look at me that way when I asked if there was going to be a foul shooting contest?) Please note that any food sales, admission price, and the fundraising quilt is all done by the guild and not our church. We did suggest that the proceeds from the fundraising quilt (some kind of Civil War pattern, again I'm clueless) would go to our friend, John Saucier and the TEAM JAM ministry he leads (click on 'TEAM JAM' to go to website.) They agreed, and we are glad to help. Though they will pay us a fee to use the building, this is outside our normal way of functioning, and we are not resorting to some other kind of way to raise funds here in our church. It is mainly our interst to serve our community another way and to get to know many more personally. See me if you have concerns or questions.

On October 11 and 18, 2007 (two succesive Thursdays) from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm each day we will be hosting the "Senior Money Matters Seminars" for the benefit of senior adults, those about to be, and those who care for them to help answer questions in regards to Medicare, Inheritance Taxes, Will I outlive my income?, and How to Increase Income and Decrease Taxes. These are all important issues and we are pleased to have an expert, Mr. Dave Brunswick, come to address these topics. Dave has various certifications in this field and his approach is a Biblical and Christian one. Please consider attending and inviting others. We will be giving a FREE LUNCH on both days, and most likely will ask you to help provide food and serve. Please let me know if you will help, thanks.

Don't forget that we are collecting candy to give out on October 28 for our Third Annual "Trunk or Treat" contact with our community. We got a few bags this past Sunday, which is not bad for short notice - but we will need MUCH MORE, so please help. Just deposit it in the bin by the display in the lobby. And be sure to sign up to help, especially if you are hosting a "trunk" in your car or van so that we can plan effectively.

Whew! Be sure to put all these things on your schedules, and help as much as you can - we need you.

In a week Beth and I plan to make a quick trip to Indiana to celebrate our Nicholas' FIRST BIRTHDAY! Can you believe it? Thank you for sharing his first year with us, you have literally watched him grow by means of the pictures I include with these notes. Rejoice with us in this special event because your prayers for him have had an important part in his early life. I know that Sarah and Sam fully appreciate this as well. They would also ask for your continued prayer as Nicholas is exploring his "independence" now: through "walking" (Sarah said crawling has been very infrequent for the past few weeks), through "weaning" by trying all kinds of new foods, and by "wailing" every time he doesn't get his way or mommy / daddy leave the room. Well, now the fun REALLY starts - and Beth and me are smiling real big! They can do it, they were well trained.

God bless you all as you prepare for Sunday to worship God together and enjoy fellowship with one another. For those outside our church we pray for God to bless your pastor and services in great ways.

Yours in Him,

Pastor Don Workman

www.faithbaptiststreetsboro.org

PS - Our digital camera of five years has finally "bit the dust" at the most inconvenient time for Beth and me, so we are looking for a new one (they are MUCH more expensive than anticipated.) We would like to know how you like YOUR camera, and what kind you would suggest? But with these prices, we may not be able to pull off the purchase this week - maybe a family Christmas gift!