Time for God

Time, who’s got it and who’s got plenty to spare?  We just finished a major stewardship campaign here at First Baptist and the two hardest elements to be faithful to God with are our time and finances.  When all of this applies to student ministry, there is nothing more valuable than a leader investing time with a student.  

We live in a very “get it now” culture where we seek out instant results with so many things.  We want to pay at the pump, check out of the grocery store quicker, even if it means doing it ourselves, and we want faster internet so we don’t have to wait so long for Netflix to start playing.  We hold a tight grip on our time, especially when it comes to giving it away.  I have spent a silly amount of time trying to figure out how to make student ministry more effective while trimming the amount of time required of our faithful volunteers, and do you know what I keep running into?  I am constantly confronted with the fact that ministry takes time.  Faster and shorter don’t always return better results in the life of a youth worker.  Students need consistency, they need commitment, they need to know that we are in it for the long haul.  So many times I find myself trying to figure out how to get the most out of the least, rather than giving the best.   

Our time has turned into God’s time.

God wants our best.  God has given us the gift of eternal life, a gift we could never repay, nor should we try to.  God tells us to do everything for His glory, and when I think of what that translates to with my time, I keep returning to the fact that he wants my best and he wants my everything.  Our time has turned into God’s time, which for some may seem depressing, but let me encourage you by revealing the incredible honor it is to be considered by the almighty God to do His work.  We are so undeserving of this role, yet still considered worthy.  

There is going to be a time when you have an opportunity to pour your time into someones life.  It may be a student, it may be a friend, it may be a stranger.  Spend the time with people so that they may see the Love of God shine through you.  When I think through all the hours of ministry I have spent reaching students, the ones that stand out the most aren’t the office hours, or the weekly youth group meetings, or the teaching opportunities, or the church business meetings.  The hours that I hold most precious are the ones sitting in a coffee shop or on a hike talking with a student about life, listening to their stuff and just being an ear to hear.  

Who’s looking at your life as an example of the Love of God?

Who are you pouring into?  Who’s looking at your life as an example of the Love of God?  Isn’t that a wonderful and daunting privilege?  Spend time praying over your availability to others.  Pray for God to give you the time to be an ear to hear to someone.  Don’t overcomplicate it, God has blessed us with the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us, so carve out some time and pick up your phone and call that person that God has placed in your path.

Blessings, 

Chris 

Despite Myself

Exhausted, cramped, and more than a little grouchy, I clambered out of the car and allowed my gaze to roam through the trees, giving me a favorable impression of Ross Point Camp, the retreat center that I had driven ten hours to see and attend. My 16-month-old was still complaining quite loudly about his discomfort, as he had been for most of the trip, so my mental exploration was cut short as I rescued him from his carseat with more efficiency than grace and gentleness. Alright, we’re here. Let’s just get inside and get this thing over with, already, I thought to myself.

Starting out the retreat with an attitude like that did not bode well for the remaining days. I confess that I was neither excited to be there, nor optimistic for what I could learn. Isn’t it great though, when God works in us, despite us?! By most standards, nothing went right for the whole trip. My son screamed most of the drive there, while we navigated detours for accidents and construction. He didn’t sleep for two straight nights, which kept most of our other cabin-members awake, too. I missed two sessions in order to let Davy nap and found out later that they were some of the best ones! It even rained/hailed much of the time. I kept wondering why God brought me there at all. Yet, in the midst of all that stress and chaos, despite my poor attitude and exhaustion, God met with me. 

During one of the breaks, Davy and I went for a long walk around the camp. The river was gorgeous, and I loved listening to the wind whistle through the pines. I began to praise God and thank Him. Silently and gently, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart there. I began to think over some of the things the speaker had been saying, things that I was sure would never sink in past my weariness. Points that I hadn’t understood began clicking in my mind, and I saw, for a brief moment, the big picture of my trip there. It wasn’t about the teaching, per-say, though that was certainly worth hearing. Nor did I need to get to know my co-workers better, though I’m glad I did. Indeed, for me, the trip wasn’t about the trip at all! It was simply a vehicle God used to teach me about attitude. Just as I had pouted and grumped my way through most of the retreat, I realized that, in a measure, I had pouted and grumped through things here, at the church. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I love my job, and I love this church! But I also like doing things my way. I mean, don’t we all? I don’t always agree with everything that happens behind the scenes. It’s easy to think Oh, this way would be more efficient. Or It would be more comfortable for me if they did it like that. But in that moment, I was forced to come face to face with how my heart attitude could make or break my ministry here, just as it affected how much I could learn at that camp. 

That day, I resolved to not let my attitude slow down God’s work. I am even more committed to supporting Tim and Chris and all the elders in their work towards our common goal, regardless of whether it’s comfortable for me. At the end of the day, they are answerable to God for the way they lead this church. I am only responsible for how I support them and obey God’s call for me, here and now. It’s all about Him; I am just a tool in His hands. I am so glad God confronted me with this now, because I firmly believe He is doing and will continue to do great things at First Baptist Church of Port Angeles, and I am determined not to give the devil a foot-hold in my life and in this church but, instead, to build up pastors, elders, and members, alike, with prayer, love, and whole-hearted enthusiasm that I can trust God to renew in me every day.

 - Jessi

Re-Evaluating Our Mission

Who doesn’t get excited about conferences?  We always enjoy the food, look forward to learning and, of course, the fellowship is wonderful.  The staffs’ time at Ross Point, on October 1st and 2nd, was no different!  

For me, I really enjoy conferences like this because it allows me to refocus on the basics; things like “less is more” and “if you aim for nothing you’ll hit it every time” become more true in my mind.  I often find myself so intensely focused on the lists of things I need to accomplish and get done every week that the over-all, big picture can get lost.  Opportunities like going to Ross Point remove us from the frenzy and give us some fresh perspective on our ministries.

We talked a lot about the pastor’s role in turning a church around, as well as dealt extensively with mission and vision, but the thing I found most interesting, that our speaker Dr. Aubrey Malphurs shared with us, was a really practical method for evaluating the ministries of the church.  If our values, as a church, match that which the Bible has told us are important (worship, fellowship, biblical instruction, evangelism, and service), then our ministries will be a clear reflection those values.  He had us make a chart with those items across the top and then a list of our ministries along the side. We, then, checked off which values each ministry reflected.  For example, a Sunday morning worship service would have “worship” and “biblical instruction” checked off and a bible study might have “fellowship” and “biblical instruction” checked off.  Well, as you can guess, the whole group had an overwhelming absence of ministries that displayed “evangelism” and “service”. Unfortunately, this reflection of our values doesn’t really jive with what we know the Bible says, because we are told, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,” (the places that are “unclean” or we don’t really want to go), “...and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Many other passages also charge us with sharing the message and hope and joy of Jesus Christ!

I am so excited about the growth in our church and look forward to “aiming” with you as our church comes up with a clear mission and vision statement, evaluating and adjusting our ministries. Most of all, I’m enthusiastic about serving alongside you, as we share Christ with a lost and dying world!

Thank you so much for your support and the opportunity to attend this conference with the church staff!  It was an incredible blessing, and I am certain that the church has sown well and will see good harvest from their investment!

WIth much joy and anticipation,

- Lynn Crawford

What A Morning

Grandparents Day Choir was such a Treat!!

We hope all of you were present on Grandparents Day, Sept. 8th, to hear our special choir singing, “My Lord.” The enthusiasm with which they delivered their song was contagious, and it was a thrill to see and hear three generations of family members all happily singing together their praises to God. Everyone who was in the 9:30 a.m. worship service that morning was truly blessed.

Our plans are to have this special choir come together annually. So, if you have sung with the choir in the past, please make plans now to participate with your child and/or grandchild, along with our current choir members, in next year’s Grandparents Day anthem. It will bless your heart.

How about those Baptist Belles ‘n Beaus? They ring so expertly together to make beautiful hand bell music!

“I Stand Amazed in the Presence of Jesus the Nazarene” was the number they presented on Sept. 29th. We all are thankful that each member has such a deep dedication to their task of learning music that they have knit themselves into an effective hand bell choir. Once again, we were blessed by their musical praise to God and are grateful for their diligence. You truly grace our services with worshipful music and we are thankful.

On the horizon: Autumn Music is Upon Us!

In addition to small groups starting up again in October, so is a variety of musical activities. On National Children’s Day, Oct. 13th, we will hear a special number sung by a child from among our congregational membership, and on Oct. 20th we will hear another lively gospel number sung by our Sanctuary Choir, “The Light of the World.” November will bring us a ladies trio, a contemplative anthem by our choir: “The Lord Is My Shepherd” and a violin duet. All the numbers we present are bathed in prayer and consecrated to the Lord for the purpose of enhancing our time of worship together. Praise God for all these contributing musicians! Be sure to encourage them with your thanks.

“Sing”cerely,  

-Betty-

P.S. Now would be a good time for all of you who have been considering the possibility of participating in one of our musical groups to come and sit  in on one of our rehearsals. You always will be welcomed. By participating, you just may find that your special contribution to the church is through music and in the process you will be blessed.

Love • Live • Serve

We definitely started out the new school year with a bang by serving 22 kids on our first Sunday in September! It is so exciting to see God answering prayers and filling our classrooms with laughter, energy and young hearts excited to learn about Jesus!  Four years ago, it was hit or miss if we'd have any kids on any given Sunday, and now we're filling 3 classrooms!! God is so good!! 

The vision of Barefoot Kids is to teach kids to Love God, Live it out & Serve others.  Some of you may have noticed new, friendly faces at each of the doors for the 11am service on Sept. 29th!  Some of our Barefoot Kids put this vision into action by volunteering as greeters for the 11am service! They opened doors, greeted people with a smile and made sure everyone had a bulletin, or possibly 2. It was awesome to see them experience serving, instead of just hearing about it in children's church.  They also joined the "big church" to participate in praise & worship before dismissing back to the classroom for their lesson.  I was so proud of our kids that day, and it brought so much joy to my heart to hear their little voices singing out praises to God!

Do you know what else brings joy to my heart, as well as most of the kids in our community? Candy!! And lucky for us, HarvestFest is just around the corner!  HarvestFest is a great opportunity for us to put our vision to Love. Live. Serve. into  action as we serve the people in our community.  We open our doors and offer a fun, warm, safe place to spend Halloween, with free hot dogs, crazy games and TONS of candy!!  And we cannot put this event on without your help!  There are several ways for you to help serve...

• Set-up & decorate
• Promotion
• Games
• Kitchen staff
• Welcome table / Greeters
• Candy runner
• Nursery
• Clean-up

If you are interested in helping, please write "HarvestFest" along with your name on a connection card and we will be in contact with you!  We will also be collecting candy donations through-out the month of October, with bins at each of the main entrances! 

Please keep this event in your prayers: for the planning and preparation, the resources and volunteers, and for the hearts of the families that will walk through our doors! 

- Stacie Cummings

Beautifully Designed

I love design.  Ok I said it, it’s out in the open now.  When it comes to the things we use, the things we experience and the way we operate, design is everywhere.  I was able to finish out last month at a leadership conference in Idaho where we were encouraged to see our specific Gifting, and to BE that kind of leader.  In other words, God has designed each of us with beauty, purpose and care, so let’s be who God has designed us to be.  I easily fall into the trap of seeing successful ministries or methods and figure that if it worked there, then it must work here.  I start to chase a gifting that I may or may not have, which leads me to more defeats than victories.  I am seeing now that God has wired me certain way to be good at some things, and not so good at others.

Design, Direction, Development

Design, Direction and Development should be our process for how we do things, in that order.  So many times I have removed the first D (my favorite D) because there is a need, or because that is “what needs to be done” without first seeing if that is what I’m designed to do.  Not everyone is wired to be a Pastor, not everyone is wired to be a song leader, not everyone is wired to work in the nursery and that is fine.  God has taken the time and care to design us uniquely.  The beauty of the church is it is mixed with different gifts and talents that work together to accomplish ministry in a way that could never be done by a single pastor.  

I think we have all come across the situation where we are trying to fix something in our house and realize that we don’t have the tool made for the job, so we pull out the closest thing to it, and end up striping the screw, or breaking the project to the point of professional help.  God has a specific design and purpose for each of us to accomplish amazing things.

Take time to pray about God’s design for you and your family.  How has God gifted and trained you up?  Where can you get better with training to be more effective for the Kingdom?  Where does this point our church?  Spend time praying over these questions.  

God has a high calling for His church, and I believe the stakes are high.  We have some amazingly gifted people within our church family that are going to reach people for Jesus through God’s specific purpose and design for our lives.  We also have so much room to grow and be trained to be accomplish more and reach further.  If we can move in the direction that those giftings provide, imagine what we could do.  Imagine the impact we could make!  

Blessings,

- Chris

Bucking the Trend

I would like to share with you a terrifically affirming bit of information.  It comes by way of a bit of training I recently participated in, along with several other members of our ministerial staff.  From Monday, September 30th, to Tuesday, October 1st, the American Baptist Church of the Northwest hosted an event called “Leadership Tune-up” over at Ross Point Baptist Camp in Post Falls Idaho.  I was able to accompany Lynn Crawford, Jessica Kirsch, her son Davy, Chris and Stacie Cummings, and their two children, Mason and Taylor.

It was a wonderful event.  Our keynote speaker was Dr. Aubrey Malphurs, the senior professor of leadership and pastoral ministry at Dallas Theological Seminary as well as a prolific author.  He is also the founder of “The Malphurs Group,” an organization that works similarly to the assessment team that our region sent to us a few years ago.  In short, he is quite the expert and was well worth our attention and time.

While the training was, indeed wonderfully affirming, it began with some sorrowful news regarding the state of our churches in the US.  Across the board, studies show that the Church in America is in a major state of decline, headed in many cases towards closing completely.

Most studies agree that between 80 and 90 percent of churches in America are either declining (loosing members) or, at best, have plateaued (failing to grow).  According to a study by David Olson, only 17% of American people attend church on weekends.

One of the major reasons for this decline is that the Church, as a whole, has done a rather miserable job of leading our young people to faith.  One of the studies cited by Dr. Malphurs stated that 60% of young Christians between the ages of 16 and 29 are leaving the church.

But, perhaps, you can guess why, in the midst of this tragic news, your staff and I were able to find much of it truly affirming.  Ladies and gentlemen, we – all of us who are part of the First Baptist Church of Port Angeles – we are bucking the trend!  This is so exciting.  

Time and again, as Dr. Malphurs laid out the pathway to revitalization, those of us who were part of FBCPA were able to nod knowingly at each other.  This is what we have done, it is what we are doing.  A key element of Dr. Malphurs’ suggested path toward success was to ‘Revision Pastoral Leadership’.

Why is such revisioning necessary?  Because currently the average tenure of a pastor in any given church within the US is just 3.5 years.  This means I’ve been pastor at First Baptist for twice as long as the national average.

And the average time for someone to stay in Chris’ position is an even more tragic 18 months.  Not a day goes by in church life that I don’t give thanks to God for all Chris does for us in response to God’s call on his heart.

Obviously something about the Church in America needs to change and, rightly, it must begin with the pastors.  And as Dr. Malphurs outlined what was necessary for revitalization that needed to come to a church, it became clear – we are well on our way.  It is no wonder then, that we see our church moving so dramatically in a direction completely opposite where many of our sister churches are headed.  We are bringing new people into our church – and even more exciting, new people into faith – many of them within that very demographic that is the most difficult to reach.

Baptisms this year, alone, include:

Alex Stowell, Monica Rice, David Scholten, Mike and Misty Peterson, Audra Perrizo, Bill and Hillary Gentile, Josh and JJ Thayer (pictured), Caleb Crawford and Joan Gill.

And the above is just “so far” because we ‘ain’t done yet!’.  This Sunday, we will be baptizing Melissa Koon and Randy Smith in our 9:30 service. And Barbara Tracy will be getting baptized during the 11:00 service! Praise God! 

Of course, as with any good training, there was more than just affirmation; we also came away with some wonderful challenges and helpful suggestions as well.  But how thrilling it is to hear how well we are doing.

- Pastor Tim

"My Lord"

“My Lord’s gonna come in the mornin’

My Lord’s gonna stay through the night,

My Lord’s gonna watch over me,

and everything’s gonna be all right.”

Thank you congregation for continuing to send in your HYMN REQUESTS. They are a welcome addition to our 9:30 a.m. worship services. Were you present on the Sunday we all sang your favorite? Keep ‘em coming!

Haven’t we had a wonderful variety of special music this summer? And, it’s not over yet. Our Summer Singers started it off by singing,“Jesus, Teach Me.” What a moving song with a powerful message shining through it’s simplicity! That was followed by a beautiful flute/guitar duet presented by Sierra & Warren Horsley. What a blessing they bring to us each time they present a number.

To honor our Independence Day in July we sang a hymn request, “God Bless Our Native Land.” It reminded us of how fortunate we are to live in a land of freedom guaranteed by a constitution which was masterfully conceived by brilliant minds more than two centuries ago and bravely defended by loyal Americans ever since. Thanks be to God for His watchful eye over our native land.

Also in July the Summer Singers sang, “Carry the Light” which reminds us to carry a lamp as we walk through the world for we need the light to show us the way. And the evil that would harm us as we walk through the darkness will leave us alone if we carry the light. May God give us oil in our lamps and keep us burning till the judgment day!

The special music in July ended with a marvelous violin duo playing, “ ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.”  What a treasure it is to be blessed by the dedicated talents of Genna Birch and Beth Johnson.

August gave us Silas Johnson presenting a piano solo, “Humble Thyself in the Sight of the Lord” with musical sensitivity and a Christian heart which was revealed through his music. August also gave us a guitar duet by the gifted talents of Joe Pohl and Jim Wahlsten singing their own composition, “Jesus Is All We Need.”   

Our sincere thanks goes out to each one of you who continually contributes musically to our services. We can’t wait until the next time you favor us with your musical messages. We cherish you all! Thank you!

Coming in September we will have an enlarged choir singing, “My Lord.” It will be larger than normal because we are inviting children and grandchildren of our current choir members to sing with us AND former choir members as well. Look forward to this musical treat on 9/8 which is Grandparents Day. This special choir will be followed by our Baptist Belles ‘n Beaus Hand Bell Choir on September 29th.

As usual, we invite those who may be interested in joining any of our musical groups at First Baptist or a desire to present special music at times throughout the year to contact the music director, Betty Hanson, anytime. We welcome all who would like to be part of our dedicated church musicians who serve the Lord through music.

“Sing”cerely,

-Betty-

Bringing our Best

How many of you can remember doing your homework or working on a project or getting some test scores back, and having your parents or teachers urge you to "do your best".  It always seemed to be much more important than getting the A's or getting the homework done before everyone else.  Above the success of perfection, I can always remember being encouraged to give it my best.  

School is starting for many kids and within these first few weeks they are going to decide how much effort they will put into school.  Those sort of decisions are made by home life, teacher expectations, personal drive and what those around them choose to do.  This fall unchurched kids will be walking through our doors each week to experience church, maybe for the first time.  Each week we seek out kids to come and hang out in our building, eat our food, play our games and hear about our Savior.  As we get closer to opening our doors to those kids, I have to fight the urge to compromise.  I have to fight the urge to go cheap on the food, I have to fight the urge to put off projects that will update our room and make it even more amazing for these students.  These students deserve our best.  When God came to save us from our sins, He didn't compromise, He sent His best.  God gave us His perfect Son to die a death we deserved so that we could join Him in eternity.  Talk about setting the bar high!   

They are worth it

Sharing the Gospel with kids is an amazing privilege.  We get to join them on their path to discovering an unimaginable love from an unfailing God.  When we share the best story known to man, let's take time and bring our best.  Sometimes I can feel really accomplished by figuring out a way to get the most for doing the least.   I used to try and think of the cheapest way to feed a crowd of kids, but now I realize that it isn't always about cheap, it isn't always about the least amount of work.  When I really thought about why I made compromises, it was usually because I was getting lazy, selfish or self-serving.  Believe it or not, none of those attributes paint an accurate picture of Gods love.   My goal had shifted from doing my best, to just getting it done.

I can't believe someone would do that for me

We don't deserve Gods forgiveness, yet it is never-ending.  We may feel like some students don't deserve our best, but God does.  Following Jesus (thankfully) doesn't hinge on what we deserve.  This year I want everything we do in youth group to reflect unimaginable love.  I know that we won't reach perfection, but we sure plan to give it our best. 

I now see what our parents were talking about with homework and tests.  God felt we were worth giving His best, now let's get out there and love people with our best.

Blessings, 

Chris Cummings

Rest and Renew

I am just now beginning my 2nd day back to work after a wonderful vacation.  We started out by having my parents come to town and watch Vivian and Jackson, while Stacy and I stayed a couple nights at Island Lake, a local Christian Camp run by Crista Ministries.  The wonderful ministry offers their facility to pastors free of charge.  While there, we headed off to the camp’s dirt-bike course and both learned how to ride, and fall off of, motorcycles.

We also spent time with my parents in Snohomish, went to Seattle to meet our newest cousin, Declan, traveled to Portland and spent time with Jon Kauffman who is affectionately nick-named “Uncle Awesome” and went to the Portland Aquarium with Stacy’s cousin, Denise, and her two kids, Carson and Emily.

The trip concluded with a mini-family reunion as my Uncle Rob and Aunt Sally (my dad’s twin brother and wife) flew in from Tennessee, my cousin Andy from Idaho who was in Seattle for some business training, and Rob and Sally’s son and daughter-in-law, Jay and Chris, all gathered at my parent’s house for a wonderful barbecue.  And after dinner all the guys went to a local shooting range and had some more fun there.

The vacation concluded with a trip to Seattle to watch the Seattle Sounders defeat our arch rivals, the Portland Timbers, in a 1-0 soccer match.

I also completed 5 books of a six book series that was simply pleasure reading.  It as a lot of play crammed into a short period of time – but what fun we had!  And now I return to my church home and my responsibilities as pastor, well rested and revitalized.

My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all who stepped up to cover for me in my absence.

Returning with such renewed spirits and energy reminds me of the Biblical idea of Sabbath.  At the very creation of the world itself, God laid down a plan for his people to take opportunity to create again, that is to re-create, or as we often see it written a time for recreation.  In God’s plan this was to happen 1 day out of every seven.  For centuries this day of recreation was observed on Saturday, at the end of the week.

The day of observance changed to Sunday because that was the day that our Lord rose from the dead and it so it become most natural to celebrate life and to rest in the peace and hope of God on that day.

This idea of re-creation is important to us because it is very easy to devalue the importance of rest.  I would be tempted to blame it on the modern age, where cellphones and e-mail make it possible for work to follow us wherever we go.  But when we turn to scripture we can easily observe how this forgetfulness to rest has plagued mankind for as long as we have been able to misconstrue taking a break for being lazy.  And when we work to excess without our needed, God-directed time of peace, we create for ourselves a situation destined for burn out.

To use my own profession as an example we can turn to this article in the New York Times, first published in 2010.  According to studies done by Barna Institute, Fuller Seminary and Focus on The Family, it has been found that 80% of seminary and Bible School graduates who enter the ministry will leave the profession within the first 5 years and 50% of pastors admit that they would leave the ministry if they felt they had comparable job skills in the secular field.  And a very interesting statistic from the research of psychologist Richard Blackmon states that the average cost to churches for dealing with mental breakdowns with clergy is four percent higher than any secular industry.

As ominous as these numbers seem… they can be even higher for those in youth ministry, especially regarding those who end up leaving the profession.

Fortunately, just as God gives us direction in His word for how to regulate our work week, so too does He provide us even longer lasting guidance.  God taught the people of Israel that every 7th year they were to celebrate a special time of rest.  A time where they refrained from work so that both they, and their land, might be renewed.  This was a time to forgive debts, to free slaves, to celebrate and to trust in God’s provision.  The way this has been applied within our modern churches has been to offer a sabbatical time of rest to pastors.

Your elder board is aware that our own Chris Cummings is approaching his 7th year of full-time employment with our church.  His gifting and faithfulness is unquestioned and his use by God to bless our church is obvious to all. Because we care for him and value his ministry, we are eager to extend to him an opportunity for a 3 month sabbatical.  (As Chris works primarily with our youth, it may help to think of it in terms of a teacher getting a summer break – except this time, Chris’ will come after 7 years).  The hope will be to offer this time of retreat and re-creation in such a way that it can be a blessing to him and his family with as little impact on church ministry as possible, although there is no getting around the fact that they will be missed.

Things are still in the works, and feedback from the church body is certainly welcome.

Blessings and Shalom,

Pastor Tim

While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the Lord said to him, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you have entered the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the Lord every seventh year. For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is theLord’s Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year. And don’t store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own during its Sabbath. This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents who live with you. Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces. 

Leviticus 25:1-7 (NLT)

Looking Ahead

I’ve always generally accepted that God is good and has wonderful plans to bless us, but it’s still awesome and delightful to see it play out as our lives unfold.  My journey as the Praise Team Director continually proves to be equally as wonderful!

The Praise Team has been making good use of the new television monitor at the back of the sanctuary that we use for viewing lyrics and chords.  It’s a learning curve to pull our eyes from the music up to the screen, but we’re hoping to soon be able to remove stands from the stage, when we’re a little more comfortable with it!

 July 28, 2013: Sarah Kauffman, Sarah Almond, Joey Kauffman and James Kauffman. 

We have also recently purchased two in-ear sound monitor systems that allow the individual musicians to set exactly what instruments and vocals they need to hear in their headphones (currently being used by our drummer and keyboardist).  These two additions have been such a wonderful blessing, and we are so thankful for all the help that we received from the outreach committee as well as individual members within our church family to raise the funds for these tools!

Our next goal is to raise the funds to purchase three more in-ear systems (one for guitar, one for bass guitar, and one for the vocalists) and “floor boxes” to install on the stage where each musician plays to limit coils of cords and wires running across the stage.

In order to start raising these funds, the praise team is partnering with the Outreach Committee to put on a BBQ before our August Praise night, on the 11th, which is being held outside again this year.  Our hope is that it will also provide an opportunity for people from the first and second services to gather together and get to know each other better. Additionally, it should be a less-intimidating event for us to invite new people to visit our church!  What an exciting time of growth for our congregation!

Thank you all so much for the love, encouragement, and support you continue to show me and the members of the praise team!  It is such a blessing to share in worship with you!

Love in Christ,

Lynn Crawford

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My Lips Shall Greatly Rejoice

“My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto Thee; and my soul, which Thou hast redeemed.”

--Psalm 71:23

The choir’s lips have been singing unto God in our church’s first service all year long. Now they will take a much-deserved rest. Their last musical offering, “Carry the Light” was a joy to hear on July 14th. Thank you, Summer Singers, for that stirring song which you sang from your hearts!

Now the singers are taking a break until our Wednesday night rehearsal on August 28th. They will return to our 9:30 a.m. worship services on Grandparents’ Day, September 8, 2013. Kids and grandkids of our choir members are welcome to join in on this event by practicing with the choir on 8/28 and on 9/4. We will be singing, “My Lord” which has a catchy melody and the verses are actually Biblical stories which both children and adults can easily sing together. 

If you want words/music ahead of time, please speak with Betty Hanson, who will provide you with both. Come join the fun of singing in a THREE-GENERATIONAL CHOIR and be blessed!

Also in July, we heard a beautiful violin duet played by Genna Birch and Beth Johnson. How fortunate we were to worship through their inspiring music as they played, “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” Thank you Genna and Beth. We hope you will bring some special music again to us sometime in the future!

Be ready to hear more special music in August and September. A piano solo is scheduled on 8/11 and a guitar duet on 8/25 followed by our Three-Generational Choir on 9/8 and the Baptist Belles ‘n Beaus on 9/29. Mark those four dates on your home calendar so you won’t miss out worshipping to all this wonderful music.

“Sing”cerely,

-Betty-

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Wrapping up Summer

Our Barefoot Kids Field Day is coming up quickly!  Sunday, August 25th, during the 11am service, our nursery and children's church classes will be headed outside for our annual field day!  We will have games such as ring and bean bag tosses, lots of side walk chalk, relays, water & sand toys, and a plentiful supply of Otter Pops! 

Parents, please keep these things in mind as you dress your children that Sunday!  And we're praying for nice weather, so please remember the sun screen and/or hats!  It should be a great time of fun and fellowship for the kids, and a great way to end the summer!

Another bit of exciting news is that the following Sunday marks the start of our fall session, and we will be adding a new children's church class for the 11am service!  Our nursery is busting at the seams with 3-year-olds, so they will be moving out of the nursery and into their own classroom!  Then we will have the 4-and-up kids next door in Room 13.  

When I first started helping Chris in Children's Ministry 4 years ago, it was not uncommon to have zero kids show up for service.  Now, we're growing bigger all the time and adding classes.  God is doing some amazing things in our church, and I am excited to see what else He has in store for our ministry.

Blessings,

Stacie Cummings

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Starting to Talk

I had a student go to a camp with me one year and hear the gospel message all week long.  I sat down with him the last day of camp to ask him how it was all sinking in.  I saw that he wasn't responding to my questions about Jesus, so we spent the afternoon chatting about other stuff and having a blast at camp.  Every now and then I would try to get some Jesus conversation going, but it didn't take.   A couple hours went by and I noticed dinner was coming up, so I was preparing to head out and get ready.  I was walking out the door when I heard; "I don't understand why Jesus would die for me; it doesn't make sense".  We talked about it for a while, and I realized we had a lot of conversations ahead of us about Jesus.  God was pursuing his heart, and I just needed to be patient and be available.  

Summer camps give us a chance to connect with students for a week and start talking about Jesus.  It takes time for a student to really comprehend the reality that a God loves them unconditionally, and there is nothing they can do to ruin that love.  Our leaders that go to camp get to be there while they work through this unimaginable love they may have never experienced before.     

We talk to kids at camp, but we all know the most important conversations come after camp when we try to figure out how to make it work in the real world.   How can we start talking about Jesus to our friends, neighbors and family?  Be prepared to be there to help them figure out how to make it work in the real world.  Remember, nobody has ever been argued into heaven, so be ok if there isn't a decision made during that first conversation, or second, or even 6 months later.  

I love what camps do for students' hearts.  I love how camps set up leaders to be God’s hands and feet with students.  I love how camps get us starting to talk.  

We were able to take students to camp (Barefoot & Young Life) this summer because of generous offerings of prayer and finances.  

Blessings,

Chris Cummings

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Our Faith and The Church

I often find it helpful to read and learn what others have said about our faith and the church.  I thought that for this newsletter, I might include you in a bit of that study.  I’ve been looking, again, at C.S. Lewis’ great book, Mere Christianity.  (Some of you may remember we conducted a small group study on this book some time ago).

Presently I am reading the section pertaining to recognizing God’s work in us and in the church.  It serves as a great reminder that ultimately, Christ’s purpose with the church is to point people to Himself, by way of our love for others.  Christ enables this love, he enables our transformation, and he enables us to see beyond ourselves to Him.

Here is what Lewis had to say:

“The real Son of God is at your side.  He is beginning to turn you into the same kind of thing as Himself…

Some of you may feel that this is very unlike your own experience.  You may say, ‘I’ve never had the sense of being helped by an invisible Christ, but I often have been helped by other human beings.’  That is rather like the woman in the first war who said that if there were a bread shortage it would not bother her house because they always ate toast.  If there is no bread there will be no toast.  If there were no help from Christ, there would be no help from other human beings.  

… But do not forget this.  At first it is natural for a baby to take its mother’s milk without knowing its mother.  It is equally natural for us to see the man who helps us without seeing Christ behind him.  But we must not remain babies.  We must go on to recognize the real Giver.  It is madness not to.  Because, if we do not, we shall be relying on human beings.  And that is going to let us down.  The best of them will make mistakes; all of them will die.  We must be thankful to all the people who have helped us, we must honour them and love them.  But never, never pin your whole faith on any human being; not if he is the best and wisest in the whole world.  There are lots of nice things you can do with sand: but do not try building a house on it.”

May we continue to represent Christ well to others and see Him revealed in all kindness that bestowed upon us.

Blessings,

Pastor Tim

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New Members' Welcome

What great news this newsletter holds!  We have had so many people decide to make First Baptist their church home this year that I thought it would be helpful to write up a special newsletter so our new members can introduce themselves.  There are 25 people represented in this special-edition newsletter alone – and those are just the folks who chose to write an article about themselves!  God is moving at First Baptist!  Hallelujah!

Membership is an intentional commitment to the mission of the church (both universal and local) and a requirement for it is baptism.  The people on the following pages have all made this commitment and have elected to serve Christ through the ministries of our church and in partnership with each of us.  It is truly exciting to see our family grow!

Because of the subject of this newsletter, a brief reflection on the biblical purpose of church membership may be helpful.  The following comes from Thom Rainer’s excellent book simply titled, “I Am A Church Member”:

“Church Membership is a gift.  A gift must be treasured.  It should not be taken for granted or considered lightly.  Because it is a gift, we must always be thankful for it…. When we receive a gift with true appreciation, we naturally want to respond to the Giver.  We, therefore, see service to God as a natural outflow of the joy of our salvation and the consequent joy of our church membership.  We consider it a privilege to serve the King, so we look for those opportunities at the church where we serve.”

So then, it is a joy to see our church family grow, because it’s nice to have a full church again.  But more importantly, it means we will now have new friends with which to serve Christ Himself, as we proclaim the Good News of Salvation to a world in desperate need of Jesus.  

Blessings all,

Pastor Tim

Carry the Light

“I would carry a lamp as I walk through the world for I need the light to show me the way and the evil that would harm me as I walk through the darkness will leave me alone if I carry the light.”

Thank you, congregation, for expressing to many choir members just how much you appreciated the choir’s anthem on 6/9, “Jesus, Teach Me.” The words of the anthem fit the music so well that the listener is quickly drawn into the message and the song immediately becomes a personal prayer.

You may be interested to know that this blend of music and words is not achieved by accident. At each rehearsal, our singers strive not only to learn their parts but also to sing the words in a manner which will bring out the spiritual message of the anthem. Your positive comments verify to our choir members that their consistent hard work week after week is not in vain. Thank you.

Now the Sanctuary Choir will receive a much-deserved break and the Summer Singers will take over. They will sing two Gospel type songs in the next few months. The one they will sing on July 14th is a variation of “Give Me Oil in My Lamp”, which we all probably sang around the camp fire as we were growing up. Special features are planned for the song they will sing on September 8th: “My Lord.” You won’t want to miss it!

Other special music is also planned for the summer months. Occasionally, soloists and/or small ensembles will present music to enhance our 9:30 worship services. The presentation by Warren and his daughter Sierra on Father’s Day, June 16th is an example of our summertime special music. They always do a wonderful job and we are grateful that they willingly work up special numbers to bring to us from time to time. Thank you Warren and Sierra for your beautiful music on guitar and flute.   

Summertime usually means vacations for everyone and this director will take a few short breaks as well. June brought me a joyous week with my family and July offers me the annual Sacred Choral Workshop where I can be inspired for another year as your Music Director in the 9:30 worship services. As you probably can imagine, the director’s job is constantly demanding, but working in sacred music, whether it is through writing or arranging music, rehearsing choral groups and hand bell choirs, or working with small instrumental and vocal ensembles, is not only stimulating musically but satisfying to the Christian soul. So, I am grateful for the opportunity and serve willingly.

I wish you all a joyful and restful summer. See you in church whenever you are in town, and don’t forget to bring your out-of-town guests to church when they visit you. And, until we see each other again, remember the remaining words of the song quoted at the beginning of this article. 

“In the dark of the evening there is doubt in my heart and the evil temptation nearly tears me apart.

But the love of God is shining and it shatters the darkness.

Many are the souls that are lost in darkness, many are the souls that have gone astray.

I would be the one to carry the light so that they might find the way. So …

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning. Give me oil in my lamp I pray.

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning until the judgment day!

“Sing”cerely,

-Betty -

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Note to Parents:

It's officially summer (according to the calendar, anyway), which means sunny skies and warmer days are hopefully in our future!  This also means that we will be venturing outside a little more with the kids for free-time!  On those sunny days, feel free to pack hats, sunglasses or sunscreen for the kids. We will also try to supply SPF 50 sunscreen at the sign-in table, for you to apply on those sunny days, when we plan to head outside.  And if your child is sensitive to the sun, or to certain sunscreens, please let the teachers know!   

Also, if your child is currently potty-training, please inform the teachers of your practices, so we can be aware of the signals.  If possible, pack an extra set of clothes, just in case an accident occurs!

Thank you for your cooperation, and we are looking forward to a great summer in Barefoot Kids Ministries!! 

-Stacie Cummings

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Summer is Here

Summer is here and I think we are all ready for some sign that the weather got the memo.  I don’t know how your schedule works, but when the seasons change, my schedule changes right along with it.  While evenings are normally filled with Young Life, youth group, meetings, fundraisers and a bunch of other odds and ends, summer mixes that up with a nice break.  We have incredible adults that give of so much of their time to serve students for the better part of the year.  Those leaders get a break when summer rolls around.  Summer is a great time to recharge for our team.

Two years ago I sat down with a friend and discussed a dream to gather a bunch of people at FBC and go hiking a few times before the weather turned sour.  I had a lot of things on my plate that summer, but nevertheless, I was optimistic to get out as soon as possible and start racking up the miles.  Other than one hike that year with the youth group, my dream never amounted to anything that year or the next.  But I’m happy to share that with some help and encouragement, myself and five other guys hiked up Klahhane ridge.  I have to share what a blessing it was to get to know these guys more.  I have found that Sunday mornings fly by and my chances to enter into meaningful conversation rarely happen at that time.  Look around your seat this Sunday, and you will be seeing some new faces.  God has been moving in incredible ways at FBC and people are joining with us in worship and mission for Jesus.  I know going hiking may not look as formal as a worship service, or have as many cookies as our fellowship time between services, but when we share life together through fun, we get a genuine chance to build relationships.  I have to say, when you encounter a family of mountain goats and look to see five grown men scampering off trail up the hill to get away from them, you get to know each other a bit more. 

As seasons change and we see our schedules shift a little bit or our routines get shook up, consider how your can share life with your church family.  Have you grabbed a cup of coffee with someone new lately?  Has your BBQ been fired up for some hamburgers to be shared with the new family in the pew behind you?  Have you been a part of a small group this year? Our church family is growing -- Family Camp had its largest attendance in decades, our kids’ classrooms are getting larger each year.  Let’s take a moment to give all the glory to Jesus and then leave ourselves open to how he wants us to help grow the family, not just in numbers, but in relationship and discipleship.  

Now, let’s go hike some more!

Blessings,

Chris Cummings 

Director of Christian Education/Discipleship

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Upcoming Avenue

Upcoming Avenues

One of the great things about life is that there’s always more to learn, more ways to grow, and more challenges to face.  This is also a true and exciting statement about discipleship – there are always more things to learn, more ways to grow, and more challenges to face as we follow Jesus down that narrow way he is leading us.

A wonderful resource Jesus has given his faithful people is the church, both local and universal.  There are three uniquely different avenues we are approaching this summer, which I hope will help the people of our church, myself included, develop as disciples.

The first comes by way of Timothy Keller’s wonderful “Prodigal God” series.  Although this study series is just six sessions long, it is well worth the time committed.  In it, Pastor (and best-selling author) Timothy Keller, teaches us what it means to follow Christ by taking a hard look at what is arguably Jesus’ most well-known parable, the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). 

We are hosting this in a class at three separate times this summer: 

• Wednesday at 6pm, starting on July 3rd.  Led by Pastor Tim.
• Friday at 2pm, starting on July 5th.  Led by Susan Rose.
• Friday at 6pm, starting on July 5th.  Led by Rhys and Lynn Crawford.

There is an excellent book that accompanies this video series.  Class participants are welcome to reimburse the church the $10 their books cost – but lack of funds ought not prohibit someone from participating in the class.  You may sign up here or on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex of the church.

A second way we at First Baptist have an opportunity to develop as disciples is more organic.  Based on a recommendation by Patty Duckworth, our guest speaker on June 23rd, I read Thom Rainer’s book titled, “I Am A Church Member”.  It was a simple, but profound read.  I enjoyed it so much that I took advantage of a special deal offered to churches and bought 20 copies.  I am now handing them out to church members asking them to read the book, and then pass it along.  

A key element of Rainer’s book is rediscovering the truth that church membership, at its core, is a gift from God to each of us.  It is, therefore, important to know what this gift looks like.  I hope excitement about Jesus’ purpose in gifting his people (us) with The Church becomes a point of conversation between our members.  I hope that the book helps us continue dreaming together about what it looks like to serve Jesus at FBCPA.  

If you are one of the lucky first people to receive this book – read it, enjoy it.  And then, pass it on.  You can gift it to a friend, or use it as a reason to meet someone new.  Indeed, even spend some time in prayer asking Jesus who in our church he might have you hand the book to next.

A third avenue for growth happening at First Baptist has your pastor proudly taking on a role as a pupil.   Seminary did well to teach me about church history and theology.  Life in ministry (and as a pastor’s kid) did well to prepare me for the interpersonal aspects of ministry.  But neither prior experience nor seminary helped prepare me for helping the people of our church think about financial management.

I continue to praise God for providing such financial mentors as Wayne Roedell and Dan Huff.  I praise the Lord for the great volunteer help our treasurer, Rose Sanders, provides.  The Stewardship Team, chaired by Chris Hartman, is also amazing.

And yet, I readily acknowledge that teaching about how we can honor and worship God with our financial resource is a place that I still have a lot of learning to do.  And, if I am to be a bit blunt, I think many of us in the church can readily admit that perhaps we could do with a bit of quality instruction regarding the Biblical principle of worshipping Jesus with our resources.

One of the first important steps is learning to be good personal managers of our own finances.  This is why last summer Chris Cole and Wayne Roedell worked together to host Dave Ramsey’s great “Financial Peace University” class at FBC.  (Already there is interest for the class to be hosted again).

Later this year, we are going to continue down that avenue of growth by adding to it.  Terry Oliver is a man who has been unique gifted by God to teach about how money and worship go together.  So gifted is he, in fact, that his own church in Union, WA has made the sacrificial decision to allow for him, their pastor, to be gone on occasion to help other churches, and to train other on how best to teach about what scripture has to say about money.

Not only has Terry’s ability been recognized by his congregation, but our region has seen it too and has invited him to serve as our region’s ‘Stewardship Consultant’.  How great it is to be part of such a wonderful region which holds so well to their mission statement to “Grow Healthy, Mission-Focused Churches That Multiply Disciples and Churches”.

Terry has already visited with our church, spoken to our church elders and the Stewardship Team, and we are now moving forward with learning from Terry how we (and I) can do better when teaching about what this element of worship looks like.  Included in this newsletter you will find an article Terry wrote for the ABC Northwest Newsletter that I am reprinting here with his permission.

What an honor it is to travel down this pathway of discipleship with each of you.  I believe that as we move down the three avenues of the Timothy Keller’s “Prodigal God” study, discussing what Jesus intends for church membership to be, and learning how to worship God with our resource, we will ultimately discover these are not separate avenues at all, but all part of the one path we are blessed to follow with Jesus as our guide. 

Sincerely,

Tim Hughes

Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of PA

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Recovering a Lost Art: The Annual Stewardship Emphasis

Rev. Terry Oliver, ABCNW Stewardship Consultant and Pastor of New Community Church in Union, WA

National studies of financial giving patterns of congregations report that churches which conduct an annual stewardship education and commitment emphasis receive about twice as much of the percentage of per capita giving of its members as those which don’t. However, not many congregations have continued to use this practice, except under special circumstances like a building program, or in situations of dire need.

We’ve all groaned under the old paradigm of church stewardship programs rolled out each year from the “home office” designed to shore up the budgetary needs of our congregations. However, “Scribes of the Kingdom,” Jesus said, “know how to take out of their storehouse things both old and new!” (Matt.13:52)  In other words, doing an old thing in a new way is a grace for those of us who would be “growing healthy, mission-focused churches that multiply disciples and churches”! Let’s face it…people don’t become disciples by hearing a sermon, and neither do disciples become faithful stewards merely by hearing a message. Growing cultures of generosity in our congregations requires a well-balanced emphasis of teaching, small group sharing, mentoring, personal witness, and invitation. When done in a gracious way, well balanced stewardship education encourages people to take steps of faith in shaping their use of finances around their commitment to Jesus Christ!

As Tom Bandy has pointed out, the vision, values, beliefs, and mission that shape our practices make all the difference in the world. This is especially true of stewardship education.  Old paradigm patterns often followed an unarticulated but driving vision focus on the needs of the “club”, i.e., the church. The values were to maintain a balanced budget, believing that every member ought to do their part, so that the programs of the church could be maintained.  It’s no wonder that folks came to dread these approaches, for while they had some success, there was often a lot of guilt, shame, and negativity accompanying it.

In contrast, I believe that new paradigm approaches to stewardship growth have a vision focus on the needs of believers and even unbelievers, rather than the needs of the church. The values accompanying this vision are then shaped around the issues of spiritual growth and financial freedom for our people.  The new question then becomes, “What do our people need to help them frame their lives around the call of Jesus Christ, and thereby, experience the joys of contentment and generosity in their finances?”

The bedrock beliefs supporting this approach are thoroughly Biblical. We teach that not only is God the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of all, but also the owner of all. (Not necessarily new stuff!) But with that goes a belief in the abundance and sufficiency of God’s provision rather than the mindset of scarcity which grips our culture and churches. The theology of grace and gratitude trump a mindset of legalism, guilt, and even “responsibility”! God loves a “hilarious giver,” said Paul in the oft quoted 2 Cor. 9:7, and talk about “giving” needs to be light hearted, honest, truthful, and most of all, fun! Yes, tithing is an important Biblical principle, but it is to be shared as LIFE not law, blessing rather than a curse.

The mission of new paradigm stewardship takes our eyes above the needs of the church to the work of Christ in the world. People want to know that their giving counts to change lives in the world Christ has called us to reach. People don’t get too excited about giving to buy toilet paper or keeping the lights on in the church edifice. But when the purpose of our generosity is to join Christ, the Hope of the world, in His work of redemption throughout the world, I believe there will never be a lack of support for the ministries of God’s people through their local congregation.

E. Stanley Jones once said, “God’s work done in God’s ways will always have God’s provision.” I truly believe that we are all about God’s work, and I believe that we can experience God’s abundant provision for our ministry as we seek to do old things, like stewardship education, in a new way that honors God’s activity in our world today. Please email or call me if I can be of help to you in your situation.  God is faithful!

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