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Mark, My Words    2010-09-05 :: Wednesday Night Meals & Deacon Ministry News   Thank you for your prayerful consideration for the last two weeks of helping with the Wednesday night meal ministry. There were several individuals who came forward and were willing to help. Thank you so very much. Unfortunately there was not the required number to make the ministry successful as a weekly ministry. Therefore, we may, on special occasions, have a Wednesday meal offered to help more people get here for the various ministry events. We will be careful to give you as much advanced notice as we can since reservations will probably be required. A long overdue "God bless you" goes to all of the many volunteers who have made this ministry such a godsend in the years past. Wonderful cooks, helpers, servers, set-up and clean-up volunteers have made this a great time of fellowship prior to our Wednesday ministry events. We have been greatly "enhanced" as a result of your ministry on our behalf. Thank you Deacon Ministry News Our church is fortunate to be rotating six deacons off of their rotation and have voted to bring six more on. Five are ordained deacons who will rotate back on and one will be ordained in October. Please welcome these men back on board (Doug Dempsay, Randy Givens, Bob Ruiz, Jack Stanley, Mike Tilbury, Harold White) and a grateful thank you to those rotating off (Ernie Card, Jim Custis, Josh Galindo, Miles Grant, Alan Marchbanks, Jack Shatto). The deacons will soon be electing and announcing the new deacon officers for the next year as well as the deacon team rosters.    2010-08-22 :: Decisions, Decesions, Decesions   We have been immeasurable blessed through many years to have been able, through the talented members of our congregation, to offer a wonderful meal on Wednesday evenings. That may be changing unless we can find some new talent for this coming season. We have need of those who are willing to cook the meal and a crew to help the cook and clean up after the meal. The staff had thought we might have enough people who could take turns cooking so no one would have to shoulder the entire responsibility. If we could recruit several teams then it would just be a monthly or so commitment rather than weekly. If the church is not able to recruit the volunteers to staff the crews for each week we will have to cease offering meals on Wednesday evenings. We would provide tables and chairs in the foyer where people could bring their fast food meals and eat before the various meetings and ministries begin. Doris Templeton has agreed to be the "point person" to explain the job and its details to anyone interested and to see if enough people are willing to make this ministry happen or if we need to close the door on it. Doris can provide full information and direction on all the jobs. You can reach her at 623-435-2963 or as always call the church office to put your name on the list. It would be great to see God raise up a new group of people who have a heart for and are willing to serve in this ministry. If not, it is okay too. Ministries come and go under the Holy Spirit's leading and if this is one of those times of changes it will be okay. He will just be preparing for us to go in a new direction. He gets the praise either way right?    2010-08-15 :: Worshipping Other Gods   In the closing ceremony with Joshua and the people of Yahweh there was concern for the worship of other gods. Apparently the children of Israel had always struggled among polytheistic nations to make Yahweh their exclusive God. From the time that Jacob returned from Mesopotamia and the children of Israel from Egypt, many people had trouble leaving the false gods of the nations and giving their loyalty to Yahweh alone. Today many Christians also struggle with false gods and giving a hundred percent of their loyalty to Jesus. The song writer reminded the people of his generation how foolish it was to serve other gods rather than Yahweh. "Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth, why should the Gentiles say, "So where is their God?" But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases, their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have, but they do not smell; they have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them. O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the LORD, both small and great. May the LORD give you increase more and more, you and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's; but the earth He has given to the children of men. The dead do not praise the LORD, nor any who go down into silence. But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!" (Psalm 115)    2010-08-08 :: "You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear you God: I am the Lord" (Lev. 19:32)   This morning as we continue our study in the book of Joshua we find Joshua as a very senior adult "advanced in age." He, like Moses before him, has memories to share and warnings to give in his farewell speech. Our church is blessed with many such senior adults who have seen a lot through the years and have a lot to remember and much about which to warn the young. Just this week a couple dozen of our senior adults went up to the high country in Flagstaff for their Senior Adult Spectacular and participated in a day of testimony, challenge and fellowship. They came back recharged and energized for ministry and life. Our senior adults are among our most faithful groups in serving the Lord and providing leadership and wisdom for the church body. Look around this morning or evening and see how many of our senior adults you can name and share something about their long lives. They, like everyone, are an aging group. Time is short for all of us but perhaps there is time for you to harvest some of the great resource they provide our church and have for many years. Our senior adult ministry and meetings will begin before too long and their "visibility" will increase greatly as they begin publishing their schedules and activities for coming days. If you know of a senior adult who could benefit from this popular ministry please invite them and direct them to Fabulous Fridays and Spectacular Sunday Mornings.    2010-08-01 :: Have You Noticed Our Many Visitors?   I hope you have noticed, and met, the many visitors God has been sending to us. I have been so privileged to meet a number of new folks visiting the church. I have had the opportunity to sit down and listen to several of their stories and have just been amazed at their pilgrimages and testimonies. So often during the late summer weeks families are finishing their summer plans before starting the next school year and we have a number of families out on Sunday. But while we are busy about many things be careful you don't miss who God has brought to this local body of believers or you will be missing a great blessing. Please look around your Bible Study classes and worship services and be sure to introduce yourself and family to our new friends. What a refreshing way to move from summer to fall as we meet new friends and neighbors. Also you need to know that our church receptionist Anna Burgmann has accepted a full-time job with Raising Special Kids and will start her new job tomorrow. Please be in prayer for her new assignment and for Marilee Best who will be filling in for Anna until the Personnel Committee gives further direction. Anna has been an absolute blessing to our church office and it pains us to see her go but we know the Lord is in it all. You would also be interested to know that your Minister of Education and Administration will be starting work on his doctorate degree at the beginning of the year. Steve will need your prayers as well as he finishes his seminary education in the next couple of years. We are fortunate to have his caliber of mind and heart leading our many ministries. Tonight we will hear reports from Gabby Custis and her mission trip to Uganda as well as the many people who went as short-term missionaries to Joni and Friends Family Retreat in California last week. Don't miss these reports of what God has done!    2010-07-25 :: A Word From Your Minister of Education   Arizona Church Equipping (ACE) Conference As we move into the last week of July, we begin to move our focus from summer programs and vacation time to fall programs and return to school. Because of the increasingly earlier start dates for school the last few years, we are moving our Sunday School promotion day this year for Preschool, Children, Youth, and College to August 1st. With this earlier deadline, Nominating Committee is already well underway in selecting teachers and leaders for the 2010/2011 school year. With those selections comes the need for teacher and leader training. Every summer in late August, the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention provides a top-notch and contemporary one day training conference. The "ACE" Conference brings in subject matter experts in almost every field of ministry from all over the country to lead the conference. Brad Waggoner is the featured speaker this year who is author of "The Shape of Faith to Come, Spiritual Formation and the Future of Discipleship." This year's ACE Conference will be conducted on August 21st between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm at North Phoenix Baptist Church. There are two sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon. You can attend all day or only those classes which will benefit you most. A schedule and class descriptions are available on-line at www.aceconference.org or on the church bulletin boards. The early enrollment (and reduced rate) deadline is July 31st. Notify me or the church office if you would like to attend all or part of this year's ACE Conference. Steve    2010-07-18 :: Special Guest Preachers Today!   Special Guest Preachers Today! We all enjoy a break from our regular teachers on occasion and today we have the opportunity to enjoy two great speakers. Steve French needs no introduction to our church family but is our Education/Administration Minister and has been for ten years this December and will be preaching this morning. Jack Rudy is from Kentucky and has been a Gideon for over thirty years participating on numerous international Gideon trips. Currently he is on a committee that oversees the international Gideon mission and will speak in tonight's evening service. Gideon's Internationl is an interdenominational association of Christian business and professional men who are members of Protestant/evangelical churches. Their members are dedicated to saving the lost through personal witnessing and the distribution of God's Word in more than 180 countries around the world. The Gideon's 111th annual convention is in Phoenix this year from July 20-25th. Gideons from over 85 countries are expected to attend the convention and the messages will be translated into 10 languages. The Pastor's event is expected to have over three thousand people attend. As always, we will receive a special offering for the Gideons at the conclusion of the service.    2010-07-11 :: A Word from your Minister to Students   We had a great week at Zona Yuth Kamp! God was really working in all of our lives. We arrived in Riverside safe and sound a little earlier then we planned, so God was blessing us even before we got to Kamp. David Ellis (the lead singer) and his band really brought us a great, authentic worship service and really allowed us to Engage God through the songs. Chad Childress was our Kamp pastor. He challenged us to Engage God though our lives this week and the following weeks after Kamp. The sun was shining all week and games were a blast. This week at Kamp was a great, life- changing week for all of us. The live stream of the worship services had over 5 thousand hits and was shown in over 10 countries! If you haven't seen them they will be replaying at www.livestream.com/zonalive. Keep praying for the students this week as we continue to engage God. Thank you for your prayers and support! KJ Kennell    2010-07-04 :: A Message From Your Children's Minister   What an exciting month we've had with our children! We had a great week at camp and this past week we had another great week in Vacation Bible School! We had 181 kids at camp and had 8 kids make decisions to follow Christ and several others express their desire to know more about making that decision. These kids came from our church as well as nine other sister Southern Baptist churches. Our church has been the backbone for this camp by providing most of the staff and administration. We've got a great team of leaders that have a heart for sharing the love of Christ and the gospel to the children. Not only did we have a great group of leaders at camp but we also had a great team of leaders for VBS. We averaged over 100 kids each night. The families from our church really reached out to the community and brought in their neighbors and friends. We had several kids want to know more about following Christ and we have several that we are talking to about baptism. What a great celebration it is to know that as a church we have affected the lives of so many children by sharing the love of Christ by sharing the gospel with them! Just a word of thanks to all of you who have supported the efforts of our Children's Ministries whether it was by financial and or prayer support, you have been a blessing! If you are ever in doubt whether your sacrifices have made a difference – just look in the faces of the children you see in our church as they are being taught about Jesus, as they are worshiping, and as they are being baptized. It's worth the time, it's worth the money, it's worth the sacrifice, because… it's for eternity! Cheri    2010-06-27 :: Great Week of Children's Camp, Great Week of VBS!   God was certainly good to us last week as we were able to take our largest group to Children's Camp at Prescott Pines. Student leaders and adult counselors were exceptional as they led the activities all week. There were a total of eight children who made commitments to Christ and a couple were from our church. God bless everyone of you who made it possible to take every child who wanted to go. They each and every one were a blessing to have and privilege to serve. I trust they have reported back to you the fun, crazy and spiritual things they did at camp this year. Tonight begins another week of ministry focused on children as Vacation Bible School launches. Please be in prayer for all the boys and girls who will be able to attend and their families. VBS is a great opportunity to meet new kids in our neighborhood and their families. If you work in any area of our Children's Ministry and are not directly helping in VBS, feel free to drop in and visit with the children and their opening assembly. Are You Registered to Vote in August? As Americans, we have the freedom and duty to register to vote, and then to vote our values. As Christians, we have the great privilege of exercising this authority in a manner that is honoring to God. The deadline is July 26th for voters to register for the August 24th Primary Election. Make sure you are registered to vote. If you are not, or if you have moved since the last election, you can quickly register online at www.servicearizona.com. Click on "register to vote." If you turn 18 years old by August 24th you too can register to vote and make a difference.    2010-06-20 :: Summer MInistries Are Now in Full Swing! (A Word From Steve French)   Well our children returned from Kids' Camp Friday; and as I write this article on Thursday, I am assuming that no news is good news. I know you have joined me in praying for God to work His will in their hearts through the events and teaching that have gone on there all week. Cheri will give us all an update on what God has done within the next couple of weeks. Today, we all need to begin praying for Vacation Bible School which begins this coming Sunday, June 27th. If you know of a child who wants to go but has not yet registered, please let Cheri or the church office know as soon as possible, so that we can make sure everything is ready for them. Zona Youth Camp begins on the campus of California Baptist University on the following Sunday, July 4th. Please be praying for that camp also, that all will go whom God desires and that His will be done in each heart for His glory! Then we all get a whole week to rest before Joni and Friends Family Camp begins during the week of July 19th – 25th in Murrieta, California. While all of these are going on, we also have many routine ministry opportunities that we should help with in our surrounding communities. As examples, Arizona Baptist Children's Services has requested material assistance for its Crisis Pregnancy Centers, and Phoenix Rescue Mission needs bottled water donations throughout the summer. Ask your small group Bible Study leader for information on these or others – Just get involved and make a positive difference in this world for now and for eternity! Christ is the answer! Steve Minister of Education    2010-06-13 :: New Bills to Bless Families   2010 turned out to be one of the most significant years for passing pro-family legislation in Arizona's history. The Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) supported twelve bills that became law. You can read them in detail at their website azpolicy.org. These bills will have a positive impact on the body of Christ across our state. Here are three of them: SB 1309 – Parental Rights – This new law protects parents' fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children. Public schools will now be required to receive signed, written, parental consent before sexual education or sexual-related materials are taught in the classroom. The new law also prohibits mental health screenings of minors outside a doctor's office without a parent's permission. HB 2238 – Child Prostitution Penalties - CAP was able to work with StreetLightPHX, a coalition of more than 30 churches, and the Arizona legislature to fight predators that prey on young girls caught in prostitution rings. The new law removes a loophole that helped predators avoid prosecution by claiming they did not know the age of the child. HB 2596 – Religious Freedom; Land Use - The First Amendment rights of churches have been continually ignored by local governments when implementing and enforcing land use and zoning regulations. The new law levels the playing field and prevents the government from treating religious organizations differently than non-religious organizations in its zoning laws.    2010-06-06 :: Church Transformational Survey Results   Update! We have received the forty-page results from our recent church transformational study! It will take a little while to digest it all and to schedule our consultation with a representative. As we work through the process and are able to make some conclusions, we will plan a time for reviewing, evaluating and presenting the findings to the church. Be in prayer that we will see what the Lord wants us to see and how He would have us address whatever issues may arise. June will be a busy month full of opportunity for our children. Kid's Camp will be going on from Monday the 14th through Friday the 18th up in the cooler Prescott area. Pray for Cheri, the workers and kids to have a great and safe week as they worship, study and play. Pray that God will have both student and adult leaders attuned to the spiritual needs of every camper and they will be mightily used of God. The kids from camp will return in time for Father's Day June 20th and our Baby Dedication as well. They will enjoy one week of recovery from Kid's Camp before we launch VBS on Sunday evening June 27th. Be sure everyone you know with kids has the details and are registered. VBS week will lead us right up to the month of July and Independence Day weekend. That is the Sunday that our youth will be packing up and leaving for Zona Yuth Kamp at California Baptist University in Riverside, California. The youth will have several different tracks this year that they can choose from to give them the best and most helpful camp for their needs. Please be in prayer for them that the Lord will meet them in His glory. Pray that God will elevate their spiritual walk and service to others. It will be a great camp and the first one with KJ on board. I promise to try to behave myself while serving with him. A week after the youth return from camp our Disability Ministry workers and families head over to California for Joni and Friends Family Retreat at Murrieta's Hot Springs! Pray God will make this camp the best one we have had so far and be a blessing to the families. Pray for our workers to be Christ-like servants.    2010-05-30 :: Memorial Day Weekend   On the last Monday in May, Memorial Day, our country honors those Americans who have given their lives fighting in military uniform. Americans will decorate the graves of soldiers with a flag or flowers. Arlington cemetery is the largest and most prestigious military cemetery in the country and home to Section 60 a large burial ground for soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Vice-president Joseph Biden will be present for bestowing the honor. As our nation is at war with terrorists in two countries we pause and remember those still in uniform and who continue daily to be in harm's way. We have children there. 2010 Disaster Relief Activity as of May 26 Professions of Faith 1,191 Ministry Contacts 68,986 Gospel Presentations 8,997 Volunteer Days 14,519 Meals Prepared 141,536 Chainsaw Jobs 101 Mudout Jobs 862 Repair Jobs 16 Roofing Jobs 3 Water Purified (gallons) 3,354 Showers 1,329 Laundry Loads 1,176 Patients Seen 30,320 Buckets of Hope 155,000    2010-05-23 :: A Word from your Youth Pastor   THANK YOU! The youth group would like to thank all of you who came out to support our youth led Sunday service and pie auction. It means so much to us to have the support of our church congregation behind us. The Pie/Silent Auction was a hit! We raised $4763 total!! That will give each student going to camp over $100 in fundraising. Thank you to all of you that were able to come and bid on the pies. And thank you to those who made your special homemade pies, without them we wouldn't have hit that number so thank you again. The Sunday night service went off excellent. I am happy that we had the opportunity to share our talents with the church. We have been blessed with that worship band every week to help lead us in worship. Thank you to Mrs. Lisa Grant and June Weimer for helping put it all together. Thank you Miles Grant for helping us all sound good. And a very special thank you to all of you that showed up to support us. KJ Kennell P.S. my nose is ok from that pie    2010-05-16 :: Graduations Galore   The end of May is here and school is wrapping up for another year. Graduations will be going on for the next couple of weeks as students and parents alike celebrate graduation. I know Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary here in Arizona will be graduating 18 students this semester too. As we close out the school year our attention turns to the summer months and perhaps vacations and camps. I was so blessed last Sunday when a church member brought me their envelope to turn in for them this Sunday as they will be vacationing already. Please don't forget the Lord's tithe and your offerings if you have opportunity to vacation this summer. Hey, tell me you are vacationing and leaving your tithe here while you are gone and I'll ask Josh Galindo and the prayer team to pray a special prayer for your vacation! How's that for bribery? Tonight is our famous Pie Auction Fundraiser for Youth Camp. I pray you have carefully considered either baking some goodies for the auction or have budgeted money for the purchasing of said items or maybe even doing both. My favorite people are those who buy goodies and then share them with others at the auction. That way I get a piece of dessert without having had to pay top dollar right? It is not too late to get in on the fun and show off your cooking or baking prowess. I am going to make the effort to create some of my favorite candy (divinity) but may try and buy it back as I usually only muster that effort annually around Christmas time. Some changes have been made to try and make the auction go quickly but also insure security of items purchased whether by auction or by bid on the silent auction. We will also keep in mind that it is a school night and young families need to be able to leave as soon as they can. Come have a good time supporting our youth and helping as many youth as possible be able to go to camp.    2010-05-09 :: May is Foster Care Month   One ministry that many families can pray about doing is foster care. Since May is Foster Care Month I thought I would pass along some revealing statistics on the need for this ministry and to remind you of the ongoing work of our Arizona Baptist Children's Services. We frequently make you aware of meetings in our area that can offer more information for your consideration. • 143 million fatherless and orphaned children are waiting for hope worldwide • In the U.S., a half-million children live in foster care • There are over ten thousand children in the Arizona foster care system • Only 58% graduate from high school, compared to 87% for non-foster youths • Only 3% graduate from college, compared with 28% of the general population • These children move, on average, 7.5 times in their time in care • 720 foster children turned 18 last year and aged-out of the Arizona system without a home • Every 18 seconds a child becomes an orphan • It only takes one caring individual to make a life-long difference for a foster child You can learn more about what Southern Baptists in Arizona are doing through Arizona Baptist Children's Services at www.abcs.org or by calling (800) 678-0648.    2010-05-02 :: A Word From Your Minister of Education   "The National Day of Prayer" Thursday, May 6th "The National Day of Prayer" has received much negative press in the past few weeks beginning with a Federal Judge striking down as unconstitutional the statute for the observance from 1952. Then on that same day, President Obama cancelled the White House service for the observance. Finally, the Pentagon dis-invited Franklin Graham from their observance because of his personal feelings about Islam. With all that is going on in our nation today, I ask you – Has there ever been a time when American Christians were more vitally needed to be united in prayer? I know that a statute by Congress is never going to cause American Christians to join together in prayer, but what is happening in our nation these days should! Our nation's economy is built upon eggshells. Arizona's economy is near collapse with unemployment showing no signs of recovery and a state budget which is hanging on the brink of bankruptcy. Yet, Christians show few signs of returning to work in their churches, or of supporting believing candidates at the poles, or even of giving financially to the Kingdom's cause. Yes, prayer is what is needed – prayer for our nation by every American Christian. It should not only happen on May 6th (or maybe our corporate Prayer Meeting on May 5th?) but on every day from now until Christ returns to take us home! Pray every day, every hour, and in every situation. Then may God be glorified in the results as He answers our prayers! Steve    2010-04-25 :: Many Thanks for Camp Kirkland Orchestra Concert!   Many Thanks for Camp Kirkland Orchestra Concert! As much as it pains me to say it, Darek was right! If you were able to attend the Camp Kirkland production last Sunday night you know what I mean. A packed house at Palmcroft was blessed and impressed by how well our instrumentalists all worked and blended together so quickly to pull off an absolutely beautiful night of worship. I believe the roughly hundred-piece orchestra was comprised of twelve different churches. An orchestra that Camp said was the best volunteer orchestra he had ever worked with! Our church represented a tenth of that total with ten members playing. We also were able to provide several special pieces of equipment. Darek was able to sit with us, in our section, and just enjoy the ministry of others for a change. The ten individuals who participated were: Gene Barrick on the trombone, Mark and Marret Funk on the trumpets, Amanda Grant on the chimes/glockenspiel/gong, Chris Hunter on the tenor saxophone, Kim Marchbanks on the clarinet, Matthew Marchbanks on the cello, Rachel Marchbanks on the oboe, Steve Massia on the tuba, and Vicki Zemke on the harp. Other musicians were unable to play because of a conflict with rehearsal times. Thank you ladies and gentlemen for giving your time and practice for such a rare and splendid evening of worship. Mother's Day Offering & Baby Bottle Campaign Arizona Baptist Children's Services has opened the New Life Pregnancy Center at 1431 E. Southern in Phoenix. Your Mother's Day offering will help support this center and the future funding of a new center to be opened in central Phoenix. We are also participating in the Baby Bottle Campaign! Please pick up a baby bottle at the Preschool counter, take it home and fill it with your spare change. Return the filled bottle to the church and we will get it to the New Life Pregnancy Center. All gifts are tax-deductible. Please participate and make a difference in a child's life today!    2010-04-18 :: Update on the Transformational Survey   Update on the Transformational Survey! Last week I felt like we were not going to be able to secure enough completed surveys to participate in the Transformational Survey done through LifeWay Research. The official launching of the project will be this year along with the book by the same title written by Thom Rainer and Ed Stetzer. The study is based on the one of the most significant research projects ever done in the American church. Data is being gathered from hundreds of churches, including ours, and representing multiple denominations that are leading examples of spiritual transformation. The survey covers seven elements: mission mindset, vibrant leadership, relational intentionality, prayerful dependence, worship, community and mission. The goal is to help churches make a biblical impact. Our church needed to have a minimum of eighty adults and a preference of two hundred to get the best and most accurate results. As we closed the week out we had just about the minimum number. My prayer is that more of you will still complete the survey online at www.LifeWayResearch.com/transform and use password number 51192 if there is time. If completing the survey online is not good for you than you can simply fill in the hardcopy survey available in the church foyer and quickly turn them in the church office. More participants means better results. When we have finished the project completely I will report back to you the findings and possible recommendations from the study. Thank you church for making the effort and sacrificing the time to help us know what God would have us do as we move forward.    2010-04-11 :: Praise God for Resurrection Day!   Praise God for Resurrection Day! As Christians we sometimes discuss which day is greater in the lives of believers Christmas or Easter. Each position can offer great evidence for why that day should be greater than the other. While it makes for fun banter and good thought provocation, we have to conclude that whatever the case may be, we had a glorious celebration last Sunday! For Christians living in America with religious freedom, how can resurrection day not be a glorious occasion for celebration? We are so incredibly blessed. God has been good to us in more ways than I could possibly enumerate but I would like to remind you of a few. We have been entrusted by God with seventeen new members over the last nine weeks, and of those seventeen, eleven were by baptism. Four of our staff ministers have participated in baptism and two baptisms were for people who required the disability lift that God gave to us. By the way, that same disability lift will be used today after our worship service by another sister church to baptize. How very cool. Thank you Lord. As we learn of churches having to let staff go because of the economy and decreased giving we have not yet had to further reduce the budget because of your faithful and sacrificial giving. Last Sunday we together gave over twenty-one thousand dollars that will help make up the year-to-date deficit. I believe we also are very close to reaching our Easter offering goal for North American Missions. Thank you church. Thank you Lord! *** Please fill out a Transformation Survey hardcopy or online today! Online at www.LifeWayResearch.com/transform with password number 51192 or hardcopy is in the foyer. Thanks.    2010-04-04 :: Celebrate Resurrection Day!   Celebrate Resurrection Day! What a glorious day it is for believers in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is about the life, death, and resurrection of the greatest person ever born. So very many of life's problems are resolved in this one solitary historical figure. One author has said that the resurrection of Jesus Christ deals with life's three most essential issues. What am I to do with my failures (sin)? What can I do about the futility I experience in life? How do I handle the finality of my life? The resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals His power over sin and gives us hope in this life of purpose and meaning. His bodily resurrection teaches us that our physical death does not have to be final. Time Is Running Out On the Transformational Survey We are just about out of time to finish the Transformational Church Survey and your input is desperately needed. If you are a regular attender or church member 18 years or older, we need you to either take home a hardcopy and bring it back into the office or go online to www.LifeWayResearch.com/transform and put in the password of 51192 and fill out the survey. The survey takes between twenty and thirty minutes to complete and it must be answered completely or it will not be counted. We need from 80 to 200 completed surveys to make the survey a success and statistically reliable. This tool will be a genuine help in determining both needs and direction for the future. Please make every effort to finish the survey this week and we will be sharing the results as soon as possible.    2010-03-28 :: A Word From Your Minister of Education   "Passover" "The Seder" Wednesday, March 31st, 6:00-7:00 pm "Passover" is the largest of the three annual feasts that God commanded the Jewish people to observe as a part of the Mosaic Law (Genesis-Deuteronomy). The Passover Feast consisted of a meal prepared and observed to exacting specifications to match with the events of the final meal the people of Israel ate before their exodus from Egypt approximately 1400 B.C. Over centuries of observance, the Jewish people have developed an order of service or "Seder" for the Passover meal which coincides with the requirements set down in Scripture. Many Christians today do not realize that Jesus and His disciples were observing the Passover "Seder" when Jesus handed down the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. By changing the Passover "Seder," Jesus was signifying that He Himself is the fulfillment of Passover. He is the Passover Lamb provided by God! Within the traditional "Seder" are many symbols of Christ that point directly to His work of redemption on the cross and the salvation to eternal life provided through Him. Because many of us, Gentile, Christians not understand the "Seder" like those twelve Jewish disciples, we miss some of the significance of the Lord's Supper when we observe it per our Lord's command. If you would like to participate in a full Jewish "Seder" meal very similar to the one observed by Jesus and His disciples, join us in the Foyer to observe Passover, March 31st. But seating is limited, sign up in the Foyer at the close of the worship service today while space is still available! Steve    2010-03-21 :: Eyes of Faith Musical Cantata Opportunity   Eyes of Faith Musical Cantata Opportunity Next Sunday March 28th is our Easter Choir Cantata and celebration. This year's Eyes of Faith cantata is an interactive worship experience for the church and choir. It engages all of the senses in dramatic and captivating display of live music and video. We are reminded afresh of the powerfully personal story of Christ's death and resurrection through eyes of faith. So be sure to invite all friends, family and coworkers who are not churched to come and join you for a great musical service. Maybe you can even plan a meal afterward as an incentive and chance to visit more on the claims of Christianity. Transformational Church Survey Opportunity Last week I mentioned the free church survey we have been invited to participate in that will yield very valuable information from our church body. We are asking every adult (18 yrs) member or regular attender to either visit the online survey at www.LifeWayResearch.com/transform and input our ID number 51129 or pick up a paper copy of the survey in the foyer and complete it as soon as possible and turn it in to the office. Plan on taking about thirty minutes to carefully answer all of the questions to the best of your ability. Please answer as many as possible or your answers may not count in the total result. This is a confidential survey and there are no strings attached. You are only and simply helping our church to make a biblical impact on our world. Our survey results will offer us insight on how to better reach our world and the culture as a whole.    2010-03-14 :: Your Help Is Needed!   We are very fortunate to have been selected to participate in a church survey with LifeWay Research. The survey is intended to help us make a biblical impact on our world. It will help church leaders understand more clearly the spiritual pulse of our congregation. The results will offer insight on how to help move the congregation to being more transformational in the lives of people and the culture as a whole. In order for the research to be useful, we need every active and resident adult member (18 yrs.) or attendee to participate in the project. It is confidential and anonymous. The survey can be taken online or on paper. Plan on it taking from 15-30 minutes to complete the survey. Every question needs to be answered to the best of your knowledge. If a survey has too many blanks the computer may not count it as complete and ignore all of the answers. After we successfully complete the survey process we will receive a printed data report of our church's responses and a one-hour phone consultation on the results along with three free books. We will report and/or publish the results of the survey if we successfully get the number of surveys required for the survey to be complete. If you can take the test online you will need to go to www.LifeWayResearch.com/transform and the church's ID number is 51192. This will insure the results will be applied to our church. If you are taking the survey by paper, we need you to pick them up in the foyer following the service and return them to the church office or your Sunday School class as soon as possible. There is no need to put your name or anything on the paper survey. Again this is confidential and anonymous. Thank you so very much for giving the time to help the church. If you have any questions feel free to call the church office.    2010-03-07 :: If you are interested in helping Haiti and Chile   Donate at www.namb.net/haiti or www.namb.net/buckets of hope. Happy 84th anniversary church!!    2010-02-28 :: Answers to Prayer and Opportunities Near   The Florida Southern Baptist Convention has reported that over 40,000 Haitians have made professions of faith since the earthquake on January 12th. The Haitian government called for a three-day fast for February 12-14 and most of the conversions took place then. Many have compared the window of opportunity to that in the U.S. just after 9/11. In the second largest city in Haiti, Cap Haitien, thousands upon thousands of people filled the streets where they were seeking God and asking Him to spare them from what happened in Port-au-Prince. The Florida Convention has funded partnerships with almost 900 Baptist churches serving across Haiti. The convention employs seven indigenous missionaries in six regions across Haiti. The 110 churches in Port-au-Prince have seen people seeking spiritual guidance in church meetings held outside for fear of more collapses. Ninety percent of the buildings in Port-au-Prince have been damaged. People were in the streets, literally begging God for forgiveness and mercy. If you would like to do a virtual prayer walk for Haiti go to www.namb.net/pray4haiti. Our own Arizona Disaster Relief Training will take place March 12-13th at First Southern Baptist Church in Scottsdale. Training options include feeding unit, shower unit, chainsaw unit, driver training, mechanics, and chaplaincy. Call 480-945-0880 or 800-687-2431 or go to www.arizonadisasterrelief.org for more info. Next Sunday March 7th we will take reservations for an after Sunday morning worship luncheon fundraiser for Gabrielle Custis on March 14th. Gabby has been accepted into an internship with Joni and Friends and is going on a mission trip to Uganda, Africa to work for two weeks in a school with kids affected by disabilities. The Spaghetti lunches are $5 each or $20 per family. See Gabby for more details.    2010-02-21 :: A Word From Your Minister to Children   Missions to New Zealand A rare opportunity has been given to myself and three other children's ministers in the valley. We will be leaving this Tuesday (2/23) for a two-week mission trip that will cover the country of New Zealand. Our mission will be to train local children's leaders in Baptist churches all throughout the country. We will be traveling through both islands of New Zealand teaching six conferences in ten days! After two days of travel (an 18 hour plane flight) to get there we will be preparing for a conference at Carey College in Auckland on Saturday, 2/27, (last word is that there are 100 people registered for this conference alone!). We will have training sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and the last one the following Monday evening. We are preparing to train over 200 church leaders in children's ministries. The people of New Zealand are not offered the kind of training we are so accustomed to here in the U.S. Pray for us as we plan and prepare for these training times that we will utilize our time with them to be as effective as we can. We want to be able to assist the children's leaders as much as we can to be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children in New Zealand in new and effective ways. Please pray for us as we travel over the next two weeks. We need your prayers for our families we are leaving here, travel mercies, strength as we teach, and most of all for the hearts of the people of New Zealand that they will be receptive to God's call to them to reach children with the love of Jesus Christ. Our team consists of Karen Massingill, City Church @ Westgate, Kathy Linser, The Church at Arrowhead, Jackie Fry, Royal Palms Baptist Church, myself, and also we will be led by our trip coordinator and LifeWay representative, Ann Cretin. Thank you for your prayers and support! For those of you who are Facebook users, we have a site for our mission trip that will be updated regularly, if you would like to keep up with us or just check out our itinerary, log on to Facebook and search for "New Zealand Mission Trip". We'd love to have you added as a friend! Cheri Dempsay, Minister to Children    2010-02-14 :: Florida Southern Baptists Call for February 14th Day of Prayer for Haiti   I would invite you to join with our brothers and sisters in Florida as they issue a call to make today a day of prayer for Haiti. The January earthquake affected 3.5 million people and has taken more than 200,000 souls of men, women and children. Here are several requests they have offered: 1. Pray that the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the Haitian people will be met in a timely way by all appropriate means. 2. Pray for the government of Haiti as it works with international relief organizations to restore basic services to its people. 3. Pray for the thousands of volunteers who are serving in Haiti as the hands and feet of Christ. Pray that their stamina will be unflagging, and that their compassionate service will point to the saving power and presence of Jesus Christ. 4. Pray that donors will not be discouraged from contributing to the ongoing relief needs of this devastated country. 5. Pray that the situation in Haiti will heighten the awareness of all volunteer groups of the need for adequate training, orientation, and preparation prior to embarking on ministry trips at home or abroad. 6. Pray that doors of opportunity remain open for our trained Disaster Relief volunteers to assist those placed in need whenever and wherever a natural disaster may occur. 7. Pray that the disaster in Haiti will serve as a catalyst for a new generation of volunteers to enlist for training through SBC Disaster Relief for effective deployment and service for both present and future needs.    2010-02-07 :: Help for Haiti   Help for Haiti As you have been watching and praying for the situation in Haiti let me remind you of three ways you can help financially if the Lord so leads you. You can send a $10 donation via your cell phone by texting the word nambdr to 40579. Your cell phone provider will send the money to the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. Or you may simply mark the offering envelope "Haiti" with your check made out to the church. Finally, as families, Bible study classes, etc you can provide a "bucket of hope." You purchase a five gallon white bucket and pack them with the requested foodstuffs for $30 each. The food in a single bucket can feed a Haitian family for a week. For details of what to buy and how to pack go to www.azsobaptist.org. All buckets must be delivered to the ASBC by March 1st. If questions, call 480-945-0880. Love Won Out Seminar This is the best seminar I have ever attended on the issue of homosexuality. It is a ministry of Focus on the Family. If you or someone you know would like to attend the one-day seminar, it is in San Diego on Saturday March 6th. To register you can go to www.LoveWonOut.com or call 1-800-232-6459. This conference is led by those who have been involved in a homosexual lifestyle and have found release, forgiveness and satisfaction in Christ. Their testimonies are moving and their compassion is contagious. One of the conference speakers is Nancy Heche the mother of actress Anne Heche. Nancy has graduated seminary with an advanced degree and speaks to the hearts of parents affected by homosexuality.    2010-01-31 :: Manhattan Declaration   Manhattan Declaration As a follow-up to last Sunday's sermon on the Sanctity of Human Life, I meant to mention as an action item or act of decision to sign the Manhattan Declaration. The Manhattan Declaration is a 4,700-word document that speaks in defense of the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty. I believe there are already over 400,000 signatures on the document. It is another opportunity to affirm your conviction in these three key areas affecting the Christian faith. If you would like to add your name, the website is: manhattandeclaration.org Benevolence Ministry Need On this last Sunday of the first month of the New Year and decade, we will be celebrating the Lord's Supper in the morning worship service. Each time we celebrate the supper we also receive a freewill offering that only goes to help our benevolence ministry. As you know we designate a couple of thousand dollars from the budget each year for benevolence ministry and then receive your freewill offering four or five times throughout the year to supplement that amount. With the largest number of unemployed church members I believe we have ever had, the fund has been exhausted. Please pray before you give and give as the Lord directs. We have been very blessed by the Lord to give so much to church members as well as those who come to us in need. God has truly blessed this ministry and it has grown steadily these many years.    2010-01-24 :: Words of Meditation   "O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off…For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it… You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You…. Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Various verses from the 139th Psalm)    2010-01-17 :: Pray for Haiti   As you know on Tuesday an earthquake struck Haiti affecting to some degree all nine million people who live there. The center of the quake was the city of Port-au-Prince and the three million people who lived there. It is believed that two million of the city's population were directly affected. Ten percent of the population are Baptists while the majority is Roman Catholic. Eighty percent of the population of Haiti live below the poverty line. Our Florida Southern Baptist Convention has been working in Haiti for over twenty years and will be directing the Disaster Relief Teams who are deploying. If you wish to give financially you can do so by going to gobgr.org. Pray for Arizona In a response to a request from pastors, Governor Jan Brewer has issued a historic proclamation for a Day of Prayer today for Arizona's economy and state budget. "Throughout this day of prayer, we ask for God's favor, blessing, wisdom, and guidance to rest upon our state government, businesses, and our citizens…" Gratitude for Giving to the Great Commission I received a phone call this week that I promised the caller I would pass along to you. Dr. Steve Bass is our State Missionary and Director of the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention. He called to express his personal gratitude to our church for giving over seventy thousand dollars last year to reach people for Jesus around the world. On behalf of the eighty plus Southern Baptist missionaries in Arizona, fifty-two hundred missionaries in North America, and another fifty-five hundred around the world, they are very grateful for your continuous and generous giving to spread the gospel. Bless you church for helping to "hold the ropes" for missionaries to answer God's call on their lives and accomplish world evangelization. Well done!    2010-01-10 :: What a Great Start to the New Year!   Last Sunday was a great way to begin a New Year. We witnessed the baptism of a teenager and adult man, had over 400 people in worship service, were informed we had surpassed our goal for Lottie Moon, before the Bible study hour I was handed a very large check and told to do with it what I thought was best for the church. I'm liking 2010 already! I know you all had a real attitude of expectancy in your hearts on Sunday, too. I could see it. God is good and is not bound by anything in the universe. The greatest thing of all is that He invites us to come and join Him in what He is doing. I trust you will let Jesus do what He desires to do in your life this year. As we join Him in what He is doing we are in for an amazing adventure. Our church may have one of the greatest years ever this year and I pray you will not miss a bit of it but will prioritize your commitment to not only be here but to be vitally involved with God's people. Begin by asking God who you should be inviting to come with you to church. God sent us a lot of visitors last Sunday and many more are waiting to be invited. Have you prayed about it? We sent five New Testaments to a closed country in December and will be sending five more each month. The ministry is called Bibles Unbound. Pray God will mightily use His word to change lives where it is very hard to place missionaries. May God bless our every effort to win this world back to Him. Today is Darek's 17th anniversary at our church! Feel free to give him a hard time about it. Or, congratulate him for enduring my leadership. Or, thank him for doing his best to lead us in our worship time week after week even while maintaining a full time job, too!    2010-01-03 :: "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." Psalm 103:2   "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." Psalm 103:2 Last Sunday I couldn't help but recognize how God continues to work from generation to generation among His people. Years ago I knew Pastor Don Carrothers as a good pastor and leader of the Greenlaw Baptist Church in Flagstaff who had previously served full-time as an Army Chaplain. Last Sunday, when Chaplain Don Carrothers came to preach to us he revealed how he had given his life to the Lord in our church over thirty-five years ago! He testified that he walked the aisle of our church as a high school freshman and took Pastor Jim Harvey's hand and gave his life to the Lord. Neither of those men knew what the future held for Don. Now after he has finished two tours in Iraq as a Chaplain to our young men we were blessed to hear a couple of examples of how God had used him there. God still has great plans for Don and Jim Harvey both. He has great plans for us too. Today as I look around at the family of God I wonder what God has for us. I see so much ability, talent and giftedness in our children and youth and yet so much passion and desire in our senior adults too. I frequently hear stories of how this church member or that young person stood firm in their commitment to Christ and honored Him in their life. For whatever our current circumstances or situation is in life, we have a loving Father who orchestrates our every step and orders our every advance. I believe God for very great things this New Year. I don't know the future or the specifics of that future but I am intimate with the One that does! God is waiting for our loving response to Him in 2010 and when we do we will not be disappointed. He waits for us to join Him in this New Year.    2009-12-27 :: Thank You Children's MInistry!   Thank You Children's Ministry! This Christmas season it seems every special event has been the best ever! Am I right? I mean at each and every ministry there have been blessings beyond measure to treasure. Our children, not that I'm too biased, were simply terrific in their Christmas musical last Sunday evening. I was blessed to see several children taking lead roles or new roles that allowed their gifts to be used more than before. These precious young ones are examples to the whole church of what Jesus meant by "for such are the kingdom of God." Their freedom to express worship and freedom in worship was a real wake up call for those who sometimes can become staid. Church, we have truly been blessed not only by precious and gifted children but also by rare adult leaders who train them well and are committed. We are indeed blessed beyond measure. Thank you Jesus! Lottie Moon International Mission Offering The last numbers I had on our annual offering for international missions was at $9,500 toward our goal of $12,000. I realize this is our last Sunday in December (and we usually keep the account open for a while into January) but please pray and be a part of probably the single greatest offering we take all year. If just everyone participated we would easily surpass our goal. I give you my word that you will never regret a single penny that you give in faith to place and support missionaries on the field! You will in fact store up treasure in heaven for your eventual arrival. There will be others following your arrival because you gave. Be a part of this ministry and greatest work of humanity, precious people of God! Welcome Chaplain Don Carrothers! We are very fortunate to have Bill and Hazel Carrothers' son Don Carrothers with us over the Christmas holidays. You may remember he was pastor at the Greenlaw Baptist Church in Flagstaff a few years ago before going active duty Army again. The whole Carrothers family is in town celebrating Christmas. It is good to have them all back "home" with us. Welcome!    2009-12-20 :: Merry Christmas!!   Merry Christmas from your church staff!    2009-12-13 :: Christmas Blessings!   Christmas Blessings! This Christmas season is moving so very fast it seems. Last week I wanted to report to you on the outreach at Glendale Glitters and thank all of those who came out to support and help. But then I also wanted to praise God for the wonderful Hanging of the Green service we experienced that week as well. Both were worthy of our reflecting and valuing. A highlight from the Hanging of the Green is always the choirs, musicians, orchestra and lights. But seeing our youth dressed well as young men and women and growing up so fast is equally worthy of recognition. Our annual Lottie Moon Christmas offering for international missions opportunity is finally here and I pray that you are praying about what God would have your family to give (provided you haven't already prayed about it when you made your 2009 budget). Our church goal this year is $12,000 and we are on pace to meet and surpass it with $7,130.35 received already. As always, I want to "preach" to you that everyone should be a part of this offering. If you are new to the Lord or the church this is an offering that you don't want to miss. This once a year offering is the major offering for dollars to be used to send and maintain over five thousand missionaries around the world. If you can't do what you would like to do, do what you can. Be a part and when you get to heaven you will realize why I always bugged you to do so. You can thank me then. :) As I conclude this article I am aware that on Friday night our Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra will have performed the Christmas Cantata Shine On Us with the great folks at Apollo Baptist Church. Tonight we have opportunity to experience this same great Christmas cantata at our church as they graciously come here to perform it. Don't miss this real Christmas gift of music and song, and bring a friend or two.    2009-12-06 :: Glendale Glitters Outreach!   Glendale Glitters Outreach! I have said before that it is always important for us to try every avenue available to us to reach our community for Christ. We all agree that we need to have a community presence beyond just being here for the community. Last weekend we tried something of a first for us now that we have relocated. We joined the city of Glendale for the kickoff of their annual Glendale Glitters celebration. Church members Charles and Margie Craig are the owners of Cee Cee's restaurant just across the street south of our old church location on Palmaire. The Craig's graciously invited us to use their property to set up two inflatable bounce houses as well as several tables of free crafts for children to enjoy. Other volunteers handed out our Christmas services schedule to those walking by and others gave out candy canes with the gospel message on them. While I didn't walk every street of the light exhibit or visit every booth, I am strongly persuaded that we were one of the few, if not the only one, who were there to simply bless people without charge. I was proud to represent our church and know that we were there for the right reasons and without trying to extract money from our neighbors. There were several families who really couldn't believe we would do this for no charge at all. I felt God's pleasure with the effort. As with every first time event there were several areas where we need to improve if the Lord wants us to participate again. Those of you who were there are more than welcome to pass your comments and suggestions along to Steve, Cheri or myself. Thank you for every prayer, help, donation and hour given. I believe God was in it. Mark    2009-11-29 :: Annual International Mission Offering   Annual International Mission Offering (Lottie Moon Christmas Offering) As many of you know, this Christmas offering is the only opportunity we have to give solely to international missions. That is, every penny is spent on missions and missionaries (currently 5,600) around the world with absolutely no overhead expenses. Your sacrificial gift will help support all of these godly servants for the next year. Sadly, at the present time we have more individuals and families who are ready to serve overseas than we have funds to send them. It costs an average of $43,000 per year to support one missionary. Last year Arizona Southern Baptists gave $741,919.80 to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. This year will be challenging without us making a special sacrifice to the Lord. Our Missions Committee has set a goal of $12,000 for our church this year. Knowing that some of our families are out of work and others on reduced income, we look to those whom God has blessed and to whom can make a sacrificial gift to help others who may be struggling to make up the difference. I suppose too that there are those new families or families who have never given to this most important offering. They may be the "sleeping giant" that will make all the difference this year. As I always remind, if just everyone would pray and do something in order to be a part of this Great Commission work we would shatter our goal and all be blessed for the unity and result. Will your family pray this month and do what the Lord says? If so, your welcome in heaven may be even sweeter than you imagined as those who will hear because you gave are there to meet you.    2009-11-22 :: New Youth Minister!   New Youth Minister! The Personnel Committee has completed their search for an interim Youth Minister. K.J. Kennell was hired by the Personnel Committee and will officially begin his part-time job with us on November 25th. KJ will work 25 hours a week while he continues to finish his college education. KJ says he has surrendered to God's call on his life to be a Youth Minister. KJ is an Arizona native and a friend of the church that we have known for some years. He grew up at Royal Palms Baptist Church and has gone with our church on numerous Kid's Camps and Youth Camps. He is familiar with a number of the families in our church. Many of our kids will remember him from those early camp days when he was a junior counselor himself! KJ comes with high recommendations from his Student Minister and Senior Pastor. He has had several opportunities to lead the youth and serve in leadership positions. He is finishing previous commitments he has made to his church before coming to serve our church. The Youth Council is looking for a home to have their Christmas party in this year. If you would like to host our youth and new youth minister for a party please let Lisa Grant (623-878-8139) know of the dates and times you could host. You will probably need room (perhaps both inside and outside) for about 50 kids. They will take care of all of the snacks, food and drinks. They are only looking for the space with no other additional requirements.    2009-11-15 :: Successful Paint Job   Good Work Youth! Last Saturday while the Men's Ministry leaders were enjoying their conference, I had the rare opportunity to be with some of our youth and youth leaders. Our Youth Council had decided to go ahead with some rush plans to participate in a valley wide effort called the "Rock-n-Roll Paint-a-Thon." Numerous homes were screened and applicants interviewed before their homes were given the okay to be painted. Faith based groups have been courted to be a part of this community and corporate project. We were asked to paint a house owned by a 76 year old widow who could not afford to have the house painted. All of the paint (top of the line) was donated plus all of the supplies we would need. As it turned out, all of the youth volunteers who were able to be there were girls! So, with the capable adult sponsors Becki Card, Linda Westmoreland, Steve Goodman and myself, we met at the church at an early 8:45, loaded, and traveled to the home. It just so happens that I was reminded of Eric Loden (Janelle's son) who is a painter by trade and convinced him to join us with his sprayer. His son Eli and friend Daniel were also a welcomed sight, as I am sure the sight of an all girl group was to them! The girls charged into the project with great zeal even when tearing off vines that had grown over the walls! They taped off the windows and doors like experts and laid out all of the drop cloths with precision. After the lunch break at Subway the girls each had opportunity to use the paint sprayer and then finish with the trim work. Clean up was quick and efficient. Our adult sponsors had a great day with the youth and we were out of there inside of six hours. Thanks for the experience and opportunity to be a blessing to a stranger (neighbor). God bless you!    2009-11-08 :: Fall Festival Outreach Success!   Thank You For Your Outreach Effort! God bless you church, you sure came through last Saturday for our Fall Festival. You had leadership worried waiting till the last to show up with both candy and labor though. We should have known better but most organizations actually sign on the dotted line and make the commitment before the event. Thanks for making the extra effort, as it was certainly easier on all who were there. The property was taped off to control the crowds, the registration tables set up, every game positioned, every table set up, both inflated events were positioned and the grill hot and ready to go all by 5:15. That has to be a new all time record! I will refrain from listing the names of you who came and helped make the Fall Festival such a successful event. Steve French did say a special thanks should go to the youth that participated. We were able to have a youth at almost every game and most particularly the wet ones where most adults aren't interested! Six hundred and fifty six people were registered and we served seven hundred hot dogs with chips and drinks. Rob even managed to pick up about a hundred dollars in tips. We know of one lady who was led to Christ and many others who were prayed with. I even came across a couple I had married fourteen years ago and who were told they could not have children. Their triplet four-year-old boys were in tow! I also located an attorney who works with families affected by disability to help them get services they are entitled to through various programs. Put it on your calendar, next year's event will be on Sunday evening! It'll be a piece of cake.    2009-11-01 :: Thanks, Fall Festival, Volunteers   Thank You for Your Appreciation! On behalf of the entire ministerial staff allow me to thank you for the recognition and expressions of gratitude you gave us each last Sunday. Each member of your church staff is aware that we are blessed to be able to serve you as your servants. We do not take that privilege lightly. We thank God weekly for that confidence He has in us and that you share by allowing us to serve the kingdom together. I believe the Lord is honored by the many years all four of us have been allowed to unite in service (53 years of combined service here) to Him. Congratulations church and staff! God has been good. Fall Festival Outreach I am writing this article before our Saturday night outreach event takes place. I am writing it in faith that more of you will have made the effort to turn out to help than that signed up to serve. Otherwise it may be a challenging night for the working faithful few. Jesus said, "the harvest is white ready to harvest" but that the workers they are few. God bless you each and everyone who made the commitment and followed through to help us touch people for the sake of Christ. Others may not have recognized your presence but I assure there is One that sees all we do. Youth House Painting Project Volunteers Needed Adults who can give supervision to 20-25 youth on Saturday Nov. 7th to paint a widow's house are needed. Please see Pastor Mark.    2009-10-25 :: Ante Up, Adam Groza, and Our Youth   Ante Up Church In case you have been in a monastery for the last month, our Fall Festival is coming up this Saturday night. It is a great substitution for the world's celebration of Halloween. Our church members give of their time and talents, along with a boatload of candy, and we have a great evening meeting the neighbors that live around our church. It is one of our "no-brainer" outreaches. We simply put out the games and fun and young people flock to our church by the hundreds. Our more evangelical members float around meeting and greeting people hopefully turning the conversation spiritual at some Spirit led opportunity. There are always those who are inquisitive about the church, what we do, and what we believe. Invariably some people will bump into people they know in some other way and the conversation is natural. This event has never failed for us because of the lack of candy or of volunteers to help. As it stands this morning, we are in a more critical position that we have ever been before. If the candy and sign-ups don't happen today sufficiently then we will call those on the sign up sheets and let them know the effort failed and they can make other personal plans to witness with tracts or otherwise on Saturday. Adam Groza to Preach Tonight Many of you by now have had the pleasure of meeting church members Bill & Kitty Groza. Tonight we will have the opportunity to hear their son Adam (a Ph. D. graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and current Director of Southwestern College) preach to us. Adam is in town preaching at another church this morning and will be with us tonight. Come hear from another servant of the Lord and the son of Bill & Kitty. I think there may even be food afterwards! Our Youth Need Some Help About 20 of our youth will be participating in a community project by painting a widow's house in north Phoenix on Saturday Nov. 7th. They need some adult supervision and hopefully someone with a paint sprayer. All paint and brushes have been donated. If you can help with this need please contact Pastor Mark.    2009-10-18 :: Deacons, Guest Speaker, and Security   Deacon Ordination and Installation Deacon Ordination is always a special night for our church family as we acknowledge God's working in the men of our church. We also celebrate the opportunity for some deacons to rotate off their active duty status for a year while others who have been enjoying inactive status will rotate back on to serve. It is an exciting time for the deacons to conclude their training and to celebrate ordination. Andy Brown will be ordained tonight with his wife Shandy by his side. I trust all of you will be here for this once in a lifetime experience for Andy and remain after the service to fellowship with the family. Special Guest Speaker Tonight I also have planned to have a special friend come and share a brief 15-20 minute testimony during our evening service. Rev. Dr. P. Paramanandam and his wife Vasantha are the founders of India Calvary Ministries in southern India. They have a calling to plant a thousand churches in India and are well on their way to accomplishing it. Come hear and see what all God is doing through these Baptist believers. It is a great mission endeavor and one that will bless your heart. Security Reminder In hard economic times people sometimes succumb to the temptation to take from others. Please make and keep your valuables secure both in your vehicles in the parking lot and the personal belongings you bring into church. It is a difficult thing to remember when we are enjoying the great fellowship and ministry of the church but occasionally someone may come to worship with other ideas for your possessions. "Be as wise as serpents…"    2009-10-11 :: Reaching Out to Our Community   "Fall Festival 2009" Saturday, October 31st, 6:00-9:00 pm We, at FSBC at Sahuaro Ranch, take our Lord's Great Commission seriously as we reach out to our community, then to our state, our country, and to the world. We participate in Outreach in varieties of ways; one of those is through large community outreach events like our Fall Festival. Last year, we conservatively estimate that more than 750 people came onto our property. We recorded over 400 prospects and at least 10 joined our church and/or Bible studies as a result of the event. Most importantly, there was one person who accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior as a result of our efforts! The success of this kind of large undertaking is entirely dependent upon the numbers of our members who show up to support the effort and to engage the crowd for Christ. As you leave the worship services today, you will see a "sign-up" list in the Foyer where you can choose the area you would like to support. Those areas of required support are: Information Tables/Registration Evangelism Team Game Supervision Bouncy Toys Supervision Kitchen Clean-up Set-up (4:00-6:00 pm) Tear-down (8:30-10:00 pm) Please sign up and then come on October 31st to support Christ's church as we reach out to the neighborhoods around us! Steve    2009-10-04 :: World Hunger Offering   Southern Baptists will observe World Hunger Sunday on October 11th and congregations across the United States will collect offerings for the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. Since its inception in 1974, Southern Baptists have given $230,877,650 through the fund to meet hunger needs both at home and abroad. In 2007, more than $5.5 million was given, but as recently as 2003 the total was more than $8.6 million. Hunger needs have not subsided nor has God's love for hungry people diminished. Yet few Southern Baptists are aware of the tremendous ministry their World Hunger Fund has across the world, helping families survive disaster and famine, providing clean water, improving health and nutrition -- and all along helping people discover how to have hope and purpose in life. When you give to the World Hunger Offering a hundred percent of the money goes toward providing food and water for those most in need. We will collect this offering through the month of October and, in reality, anytime you wish to give it! Please be sure to mark your envelope "World Hunger" to make certain it gets to the right place. God bless you for what you can give without hurting your current giving amount. If you cannot give you can pray for those who should give and that God will use this offering for His glory. On behalf of our missionaries who will use these funds to further the kingdom, "God bless you."    2009-09-20 :: Harvey Books, Answered Prayer   Last Chance for Jim Harvey Books I spoke to Jim this week and he has graciously agreed to send us another batch of autographed books, "Who Changed God's Name?" If you make a Lottie Moon International Mission Offering of a hundred dollars or more in the next week or two we will get you your copy of Jim's book. It's a great way to start our holiday season and especially our annual offering for every one of our missionaries on international soil. An Answer to Prayer I don't like to take up this bulletin space with personal issues but because this church has walked with my family for so long and through such deep waters it only seems fair to share good news too. Many of you know that Elizabeth, my youngest daughter, has Friedreichs Ataxia. Many Ataxia patients have their hearts affected by this disease and Elizabeth has been one of those. The walls of part of her heart were thicker than the normal range. Our cardiologist has been monitoring her heart for these years now as it can be a critical area. On Wednesday last week Tricia took Liz to see the cardiologist and as they reviewed the recent tests they discovered that her heart is now within normal ranges! They had to double-check their numbers because they were not sure that it could be correct. I know so many of you who have been so faithful to the Lord and to Liz in prayer that I cannot possibly thank you enough. But on behalf of Liz and the Mucklow family please accept our most profound gratitude for your intercession. We could not be happier for the grace God has given to our family. God bless you all and continue your prayer for everyone on your prayer list!    2009-09-13 :: Missions, Missions, Missions   As you may well know Southern Baptists are a giving people.  We never tire of providing opportunities to grow your giving and using our God-given resources to make an eternal difference in this world.  Even in the hardest of economic times, we are committed to see the gospel preached and shared with everyone. Every year in September, Arizona Southern Baptist churches give to the Willis J. Ray State Mission Offering.  Named for a pioneer missions leader in our state, the offering provides additional support beyond the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention budget for missions and ministries aimed at sharing the gospel with those who don't know Christ.  The State Offering Goal is $150,000 and would be distributed as follows: Church Planting $55,500, Disaster Relief $43,500, Christian Challenge Collegiate Ministries $36,000, Ministers in Crisis $15,000. Pray and be a part - however small or large numerically.  We would break every giving record if we just all would put something in the offering – every time, every offering. If you were able to be here last Sunday night, Nicole Peron gave us her mission report on Uganda.  It was complete with video like we see from National Geographic television shows!  Thanks Nicole.    2009-09-06 :: We Change Bible Study Classes Today   Each year at this time our preschool, children, and youth get to "promote up" to their next grade.  It is a fun time for them as they change teachers and locations.  Adults also, as they age, should consider moving on to the older classes as well.  We are abundantly blessed with great adult bible teachers up and down our age-graded classes.  Thank you Jesus. There are age groupings for each adult class and, while not adhered to stringently, are really good guidelines to follow.  For many reasons we learn well around those with similar life experiences. My major objective is to have people in classes they value, will support by attendance and serve in leadership capacities.  Steve is responsible to examine and evaluate our small groups for maximum effectiveness.  He also has to move classes around to account for growth and provide for continued growth in a limited environment. Most people don't like change, but sometimes change is good for us.  Just as Dr. Suess wrote, "Just try it and you may like it."  Besides, it is a blessed thing to see cooperating Baptists in action!  (Christians too for that matter.) Tonight we have the special blessing of hearing from one of our college students who has recently returned from her mission trip to Uganda.  Many of you have financially given, verbally encouraged, and faithfully prayed for her trip.  Now come and hear Nicole relate what God did on her trip, what she learned from Him, and how her life was affected and touched by those she served.  You'll be blessed.    2009-08-30 :: It's Children's Day Today   I told our Children's Minister Cheri Dempsay that placing Children's Day in the middle of studying the book of Amos could be challenging for the pastor!  It is not exactly the text you think of when thinking about the wonderful place of children in our lives and especially in the church.  I will not elaborate on that but perhaps it will become more clear as the morning progresses. Please look around and give thanks for the small ones you see who contribute to the church's future.  This year we are going to make extra effort to include our children in the participation, serving and leading of our worship services.  It is a good thing that I know you will enjoy and value. Our Jim Harvey books Who Changed God's Name? have run out for the present time and we have started a list of those who have given their $100 gift to our International Mission Offering (Lottie Moon).  We will keep the offer open for two more weeks and end the offer on Monday September 14th.  Thanks for your great response and early start to a great offering for this year. God blessed each of you who went to the annual ACE conference last weekend.  The good reports continue to come in and the truth that was learned there appreciated.  Our new Sunday School year begins next Sunday September 6th.  Be sure to be here and ready to do your part in our Sunday Morning Bible Study ministry for this next year.    2009-08-23 :: A Word About Giving   Our Finance Committee has asked me to make you all aware of our current situation.  As you may already know, the summer is always our toughest time of the year financially.  The reasons for that are at least two.  First, we spend the greatest amounts of money during the summer months because of Children's Camp, Youth Camp, and Joni and Friends Camp. These large expenditures come at a time when families and individuals are either on vacation or away for some of the summer months trying to find cooler temperatures.  Therefore, our giving usually falls off during the summer months. The Finance Committee is pleased with our disciplined spending by line item managers, but what has hurt is the decrease of giving.  We are all aware and praying for those who have lost their jobs, had their incomes reduced, and/or other extenuating circumstances that may have resulted in their decreased giving. There are, however, others who may have been blessed recently by the Lord and need to give more.  It seems that whenever the Lord takes from one place He gives in another.  And of course, there are always those in a church who struggle in their giving and hopefully it helps your giving to know of the need of the church. Obviously we hope that this is just a seasonal trend that is already on the mend.  It is more severe than it has been in years.  It is the committee's responsibility to keep this information in front of all of us so if indeed we have to begin making changes that may affect a ministry area you are involved in serving, you will know why.  We know God's people always rise in the hour of need and respond most generously.  God bless you church.    2009-08-16 :: Baby, Harvey, and ACE   Did You See the New Baby Grand Piano? If you haven't walked through the foyer yet this morning you should make a mental note to look at the carpeted area between two of the auditorium doors as you leave worship today. We have for many years had the blessing of a delightful Scottish lady who attends our church on occasion and worships with us.  A week ago she called Darek Millsaps and asked him if he could use a baby grand piano here at the church.  Darek went and looked at it and was thrilled to add it to the foyer for ministry opportunities there.  She would not allow us to mention her name and publicly thank her for the gift but you needed to be blessed by this kind of generosity. It would be great if kids like Joel Mucklow would not play it, climb on it, get under it, get against it, or in any other way touch it.  If you should ever see him or any of his friends being too friendly with the piano, please feel free to remind him or them that some things should be seen and not touched.  If that fails, report the offense to his father and the necessary course of action will be taken. :o) Jim Harvey's Book If you wanted one of the autographed books by Jim Harvey, Who Changed God's Name?, get your $100 Lottie Moon gift in quickly as they are flying out the door! Arizona Church Equipping (ACE) Conference The annual ACE Conference is being held this coming Saturday, August 22nd, at North Phoenix Baptist Church.  The ACE Conference provides top-notch training in every area of Christian ministry by nationally known speakers and educators.  You can check this years program on-line at www.ACEConference.org or view a hardcopy at the "Welcome Center" desk in the foyer.  Registration materials are also available in the foyer.    2009-08-09 :: School, Missions, Cantata, and More Missions   Summer Winds Down as School Winds Up It appears in just a few days all of the kids will be back in school for yet another year and all of God's parent's say, "Amen!"  It is just too bad that the heat doesn't also come to an end with the summer.  Tonight we will be treated to several Youth Mission Trip reports that you will not want to miss.  We will hear from the group that went to France, Gabrielle Custis' trip with Joni & Friends to China, and the volunteers who headed up to Happy Jack to do service ministry there.  Come and hear from these young missionaries and what God has done in their hearts and lives.  We will all know how to better pray for what God is doing in and through them. The orchestra and choir will today begin working seriously on the Christmas Cantata for this year.  If you have been intending to join one of these great music ministries you need to jump on board while there is still time.  There is always room for another committed soul.  And since we asked our sister church Apollo Baptist to come share with us last year, we will be going to their church this year.  The tentative performance schedule is Friday evening, December 11th at Apollo Baptist and Sunday evening, December 13th here, at our church. For those of you who appreciate a heads up when upcoming mission offerings approach, this is your heads up for the annual Willis J. Ray State Mission Offering.  We will receive it Sept. 13-20th.  Our state goal is $150,000 and if reached would be distributed as follows: Church Planting $55,500, Disaster Relief $43,500, Collegiate Ministries $36,000 and Ministers in Crisis $15,000.  Begin praying now what God would have you give.    2009-08-02 :: Focus on Missions   Challenge to Make an Early Gift for World Missions Many of you are well acquainted with Dr. Jim Harvey a beloved pastor of many years here at our church.  I had mentioned to you previously that Jim has a new book out entitled Who Changed God's Name?  I heard from Jim this week and in keeping with his heart for world missions he told me he would send us some books to give away to those who were willing to make an early $100 gift to the Lottie Moon International Mission offering (usually taken in December).  This is our annual offering for international mission support of our more than five thousand missionaries serving worldwide. If you place your offering in the plate please be sure to mark it "Lottie Moon."  I will ask our money counters to keep a list of those who give early and will get your book to you as soon as possible.  Thanks Jim for the challenge to make this year's offering our best ever! More Missions! Nicole Peron sent out an update last Wednesday as she continues her work with the women in Uganda.  The women are employed by Child Voice International and make various beaded necklaces and bracelets to sell in other parts of the world in order to make a living.  Nicole is co-teaching a bible study for the women with the help of a translator.  The women have chapel every day and sing and pray every night.  Nicole helps the women to get the work done each day and then cultivates relationships with the girls, staff, and her missions' team.  Continue to pray for her as she finishes the last days of her service there.

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