Innovator

Florida Baptist Association

Tallahassee, Florida Baptist Association

www.floridabaptistassociation.org

OCTOBER 2011

Inter-Mission with Sean

Sean McMahon

Exciting: FBA church among Cooperative Program giving leaders!

Four FBA churches were in the “Top 100 Churches” list of total giving by Florida Baptist churches to the Cooperative Program for 2010. These were: Thomasville Road, Immanuel, Celebration, and Fellowship. Congratulations on this recognition.

More exciting: FBA churches increase CP giving in 2010!!

In 2010, the 53 reporting churches of the FBA gave a total of $1,166,505.39. This was an increase of $52,549.44 (+4.7%) over 2009. Of the 49 associations in our state, FBA was one of only 13 able to report an increase in giving in 2010 over 2009. What a great statement of faithfulness!

Most exciting: 24 FBA churches increase CP giving in 2010!!!

In the midst of a very difficult economic period, when so many churches are having to make difficult (sometimes drastic) budget reductions, 45% of our churches were able to increase CP giving in 2010! What a tremendous testimony! Thank you churches and pastors for your faithfulness!

The Great Commission Task Force Recommendation Meeting – October 20

This task force, comprised of Florida Baptist Convention, State Board of Missions workgroups, will hold informational meetings in seven locations during October, to outline and explain the six recommendations which came before the State Board of Missions this past month, and will be presented to the messengers at the annual meeting of the Florida Baptist Convention, November 14-15. These recommendations, part of “revisionFL – Great Commission Resurgence Florida”, call for a series of action plans designed to carry out the intent and purpose of the Great Commission Resurgence.

Our closest meeting location is Thursday, October 20, 2:30pm, (3:30 ET) at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.  More information can be found in the “News” briefs at the FBC website:  www.flbaptist.org

Night of Worship – Sunday October 16, 6:00pm – Northwoods Baptist Church

I hope all our churches will “move” their evening service to join together for this night of worship. It’s going to be a great time of celebration, with worship led by Robbin Kuder, and special guest, Dr. Tom Kinchen of The Baptist College of Florida, preaching.

Pray for our pastorless churches

Currently four churches in our association are going through pastoral transition. Please pray for and with the congregations of FBC Woodville, FBC Wakulla Station, Shady Sea Baptist, and Woodrun Baptist, as they go through this transition time. It is often during these times that God is most visible in the working of a church – mainly because we admit our need for Him more readily. Pray that God gives wisdom and guidance to the lay leadership of these churches as they seek and discern His will for their future ministry.

I thank God for the privilege to serve you, and will always remember it is by His grace and for His glory.

Sean

Evening of Worship and Praise

Sunday, October 16, 6:00 pm

Northwoods Baptist Church

3762 Capital Circle NW, Tallahassee

Guest Speaker:  

Dr. Tom Kinchen, President, The Baptist College of Florida

We invite all association churches to join us for a

 great night of worship and praise.

Child care provided - birth – 4 years

Open House at the Florida Baptist Association

Please be our guest at the Florida Baptist Association Open House

Thursday, November 10, 2011

10:30 am until 1:00 pm

1839 Jaclif Court, Tallahassee, Florida

Men’s Retreat
St George Island Christian Retreat Center
November 11-13, 2011
Cost: $100 per person
includes lodging, meals & program
Worship, fellowship, prayer & fishin’!
For more information please call (850) 927-3818
www.sgichristianretreat.org

Association Youth Musical

February 19

On Sunday evening, students from many churches will combine together to present music and drama. Please contact Mark Morris at Morningside Baptist Church for more information and practice schedule.

Discipleship Conferences

February 27

7:00 - 9:00 pm

Hosted at Thomasville Road Baptist Church this year. 3131 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee

All churches are invited and there is no cost to attend. The best way to use this conference is to bring 5 or more people from your church to attend each of the 5 workshops. Then have a meeting back at your church and brainstorm about the ideas that were shared and which ideas might work at your church. (Example: Bring 5 people to attend the Evangelism workshop and then meet together the following week to see how the ministry of evangelism might be strengthened in your church.)

Discipleship Conferences - February 27, 2012
Love Your Neighbor - Share Christ		Will McRaney Fl Baptist Convention
VBS Overview - Amazing Wonders Aviation Invite all your directors, teachers, musicians and craft leaders to see an overview of the Bible studies, Music and Crafts for this year		Dan Sowell, Karen Willes, Joody Moates East Hill Baptist Church
Developing a Process for Making Disciples Doug will present some ideas for building a well-rounded discipleship process in your church using different kinds of large and small groups.		Doug Bedgood Celebration Baptist Church
Using Technology to Connect and Communicate Email, Websites, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs and other ways of connecting and communicating are emerging and changing almost daily. Hear about some ideas that may help your church.		Brian Brown Fellowship of the Hills
Building and Grounds Management Making maximum use of space Understanding space requirements for Bible Study Attracting and keeping visitors from your community Conserving energy and money Guidance for new construction	TBA	Fl Baptist Convention

Association Calendar

October 2011

2              Soul-winning Commitment Day

9              World Hunger Sunday & Pastor/Staff Appreciation Day

16           Evening of Worship and Praise, 6:00 pm, Northwoods Baptist Church, Dr. Tom Kinchen

November

6              Time Change – (Set Clocks back)

10           Open House at Florida Baptist Association, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm

11           Veteran’s Day (Office Closed)

14-15     Florida Baptist State Convention (Coral Springs)

23-25     Thanksgiving Holiday (Office Closed)

24           International Student Thanksgiving - FSU

December 2011

13-15     International Student Retreat (Regional) Tallahassee

26-30     Christmas Holiday (Office Closed)

Thank You From Deborah Hart

(Former Financial Secretary)

Dear Florida Baptist Association, Words cannot express the surprise last Thursday at receiving a gift I chose and then, the additional monetary gift was just over the top! I miss you all desperately but the Lord has taken care to put me in a place & I will bloom where I am planted. Jim & I are truly blessed to have you all as friends.

I Love You All, Debi

FSU BCM

Fall Report So Far!

·         Friends of Internationals Furniture Drive: Thanks to several generous people and churches throughout Tallahassee, we were able to give away furniture to over 120 international students who live in FSU’s Alumni Village. Special thanks to all of you who came out to make this much needed service a success!

·         Go Week: During the week that students moved onto campus at FSU, over 12 churches and campus ministries came together, encompassing some 220 volunteers, to impact the campus by reaching out to new students through helping them move, keeping them cool in the heat, and playing sports in order to build relationships. We moved hundreds of students into their residence halls and gave away some 2500 sno-cones. The end of the week was capped off by a luau co-sponsored between the campus ministries and FSU that had around 3,000 students in attendance, doubling the expectations of FSU. This began a spiritual momentum that continues as I write this.

·         Freshmen Survival: Our annual event for freshmen and transfer students themed as “Survival Night Live” had over 80 students in attendance! At this event, upperclassmen students entertain and teach the new students about how to “survive” their first year at FSU. The result of this event was that we had dozens of students sign up for weekly “fish schools,” small groups designed for these new students.

·         Illuminate: This is our weekly worship time (formerly known as “Encounter”) in Moore Auditorium on Tuesday nights. Baptist Collegiate Ministries and First Baptist Church of Tallahassee have combined our college groups on Tuesday nights for this event and we have seen around 180 students the first night and around 190 students the second week! After the service on the second week, we had our annual church fair with 8 different churches represented, giving out ice cream to students and sharing information about their church. Thank you to City Church, Fellowship of the Hills, Immanuel Baptist, Thomasville Road Baptist, Chapel Hill Baptist, FBC Tallahassee, Celebration Baptist, and Forest Heights Baptist for participating!

·         Progressive Dinner: This is our annual event where freshmen and transfer students get to experience 7 different churches through having a different course of a meal at each church. This year, we had over 50 new students get to interact with Life Basics Church, Fellowship Baptist, North Florida Baptist, Immanuel Baptist, Morningside Baptist, and City Church. Special thanks to these churches for participating and also to Thomasville Road Baptist for providing transportation and goodie bags!

BCM Events and Needs

·         “BCM’s Got Talent” Our second annual talent show will be held on Friday, October 21 at City Church Tallahassee at 7 PM. Please encourage your congregation to attend as this is a missions fundraiser. Students from the BCM will perform a “talent” and the audience will vote for their favorite act with money. The act that raises the most money wins. All proceeds go to directly support college students who are going on mission trips over the summer! Last year, we raised nearly $1000.

·         Drivers/vans needed for bi-weekly Walmart runs for international students. We need people and vehicles (preferably vans) to help transport international students to Walmart every other Friday who have no other means of transportation to get there and back with their groceries and other supplies. If you can help, please contact Matt at the BCM for details.

·         Edge Café: Thursdays, 12:30 PM at the BCM. This is our weekly lunch for FSU students, faculty, and staff. Any church who would like to provide lunch and a speaker for our Edge Café is invited to contact the BCM. We are currently seeing around 200 in attendance each week, most of whom are non-Christians so this is a great chance to build relationships.

FBC Children’s Homes

Ginger Bread Tree

 Our Gingerbread Tree is our annual project which provides Christmas gifts for each child in our care.  It’s a special way for individuals or groups to give to, and help care for our residents.  We have approximately 100 children to provide Christmas gifts for including campus residents and foster children.  Each child will be selecting gifts that he or she would like to receive, one in the “Small” ($10 -$20) category, and 2 each in the “Medium” ($20-$45) category.  Some of the gingerbreads will also provide gift cards for our foster/house parents caring for our children.  These gift requests will then be hung on a tree in our office. They will be available by Oct. 21st. If preferred, a gift card can be purchased to be used towards a gift, or of course we will happily apply financial donations to Christmas for our children, if that is your wish. Those who would like to participate may come by our office to select a gingerbread boy or girl, or you may call Shannon Vaughan or Christal Kellogg at (850) 878-1458 or contact by email at Shannon.vaughan@fbchomes.org.

Florida Baptist Children’s Homes - Christmas Open House & Annual Food Drive

This year, the annual food drive will be during our Christmas Open House. Please make plans to visit the Tallahassee campus on Sunday, December 4, 2011 from 2-4 pm. You will enjoy fellowship with our children and staff as well as filling our pantry with needed items.

*Food Drive List- 2011*

Grocery Gift Cards!

Cleaning Supplies Dish

Detergent

Clothes Detergent

Fabric Softener

Dishwasher Detergent (Preferably Cascade Complete Powder)

First Aid Items

33 Gallon Trash Bags

Feminine Hygiene Products

13 Gallon Tall Kitchen Bags

Assorted sizes of food storage bags

All-Purpose Flour

Condiments (Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo, Miracle Whip, Sweet Relish, Dill Relish)

White Cornmeal

Sugar Spices

Dark brown sugar

Individually wrapped snacks

Boxed Cake Mixes

Reg. size microwave popcorn

Boxed Brownie Mixes

Individual serving size microwave popcorn

Kool-Aid and Juice Boxes

Pudding/Jell-O

Boxed Cookie Mixes

All kinds of Canned Vegetables

Canned Fruits

Canned Soups

Chili

Tomato Sauce

Tomato Paste

Barbecue Sauce Ranch or Italian Salad Dressings

Canned diced tomatoes Spaghetti Sauces

Canned Tuna Pork n Beans

Canned Chicken Breast Red Beans

Peanut Butter

Cereal

Jelly

Oatmeal

Lasagna Noodles

Pop Tarts

Spaghetti Noodles

Pancake Mix (Krusteaz)

Fettuccini Noodles

Syrup

Regular Noodles

Coffee (Regular and Decaf)

Macaroni and Cheese

Vegetable Oil

Instant Potatoes

White Rice

Yellow Rice

Instant Rice

Shortening

Dill Pickles

Paper Bowls/Plates Plastic Utensils

Waxed Paper

Napkins

Paper Towels,

Toilet Paper

Plastic Wrap, Aluminum Foil, etc.

Questions? Phone # is 878-1458