2/21 – Camp Fundraiser – Soup Lunch

Posted on February 11th, 2010

On Sunday February 21, our children and youth will sponsor a soup lunch after the worship service to raise money to help them go to summer camp.

We encourage you to attend and ask that you donate an amount to this cause that you would normally spend for a restaurant lunch.

Please contact the church office (392-5041) if you plan on coming to this fundraiser.

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2/17 – Ash Wednesday Service

Posted on February 11th, 2010

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and occurs forty days before Easter (excluding Sundays). Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance and as a reminder of our mortality.

This year, we will have our Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. All are invited to this service.

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You’ve Got the Time . . .

Posted on February 11th, 2010

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is partnering with “Faith Comes By Hearing” audio Bible ministry in providing free MP3 CDs to members of FBC so that each family (including children) can listen to a dramatized reading of the entire New Testament during the season of Lent. We will have a special presentation about this audio Bible ministry during our worship service Sunday, February 14, in which we will distribute the free CDs.

Toward the end of Lent, we will collect an offering to support this ministry. Visit the “Faith Comes By Hearing” audio Bible ministry website for more information.

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Praying for Haiti . . .

Posted on January 14th, 2010

On Tuesday, January 12th, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Haiti. The center of the quake hit about 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. According to the Red Cross, it is estimated that nearly one-third of Haiti’s population were affected by the quake.

We are collecting medical supplies for the people in Haiti at our worships service this Sunday, February 21.  Please download this file to see what supplies are needed.

In addition to your prayers for Haiti, below are some links to provide ways you can help.

Virginia Baptist Relief Response

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Disaster Response

Baptist World Alliance BWAid

World Vision

America Red Cross

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1/24 – Prayer Kick-Off Luncheon

Posted on January 12th, 2010

We are continuing our prayer groups as part of our Spiritual Transformation Journey!

On Sunday, January 24, there will be a kick-off luncheon for all of our prayer participants AND for anyone who is interested in learning more about our prayer groups.

During the luncheon, there will be a brief orientation and Q&A session.  Afterwards, there will be an opportunity for people to sign up.

Each prayer participant is required to purchase a prayer and devotional book called Cultivating Fruitfulness for $7.  The book is available in the church office.

Here are the confirmed meeting times of our prayer groups:

Sunday mornings, starting Feb. 7, 9:30 to 11 am, every other Sunday.

Location: FBC, Associate Pastor’s office
Facilitator: John Slade
Members: Deborah Slade, Tim Trent, Cecil Yeatts, Dave Landrum

Sunday mornings, starting Jan. 31, 9:30 to 10:30 am, every other Sunday.

Location: FBC, Associate Pastor’s office
Facilitator: Elizabeth Whiley
Members: Jim Davis, Sandy Yeatts, Don Kyper

Sunday afternoons, starting Jan. 31, 4 to 5 pm, every other Sunday.

Location: 1100 4th Ave. Ext.
Facilitator: Doris Weaver
Members: Sandy East, Mc Amoss, Cindy Landrum

Monday evenings, starting Jan. 25, 6 to 7 pm, every other Monday.

Location: FBC, Fellowship Hall.
Facilitator: Ken Copeland
Members: Chuck Daniel, Ruth Patteson, Cindy Cave, Toby Towler

Thursday evenings, starting Jan. 28, 6 to 7 pm, weekly.

Location: FBC Parlor.
Facilitator: Crystal Cupp
Members: Gene Watson, Suzanne Towler, Peggy Cave

Friday at noon, starting Feb. 5, 12 to 1 pm, weekly.

Location: FBC Parlor.
Facilitator: Michael Cheuk
Members: George Carter, Anita Lynn, Patti Trent, Gail Cave

The PURPOSE of these Prayer Groups

The purpose of these prayer groups is ultimately

• NOT about getting to know your prayer partners better, or fellowship
• NOT about coming away with a good “experience”
• NOT about “growing” the attendance, budget or programs of the church
• NOT about completing the prayer guide book in a certain time frame

The purpose of these prayer groups is

• About spiritual formation – centering our lives on Jesus Christ and being His disciples
• About continually asking for God’s guidance in leading the church into her future
• About continually seeking opportunities to be the presence of Christ to those outside the church and outside your prayer group
• About continually knocking so that God will open the doors for new ministries

As we pray, we will pay attention to how God is speaking to the congregation as a whole regarding these questions:

1. WHO is God calling us to serve and to witness the good news of God’s Kingdom?
2. WHAT unifying direction of ministry is God calling us to head toward?
   
3. WHAT new ministries can emerge for us to serve those whom God has identified?
4. WHAT are some outcomes that God might want us to look out as we live into our future story?

As a member of these prayer groups, you will be a part of our sustaining leadership community to help the church discern God’s future story for Farmville Baptist Church!

Contact Michael if you’d like to join a prayer group and be a part of this exciting journey!

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1/3 – John Slade to Preach

Posted on December 26th, 2009

We welcome our own John Slade as our guest preacher on Sunday, January 3.

John has had an accomplished career in television, movies, and radio.  He served as general manager, writer, and producer in television on both coasts.  Programs he developed or produced include the first minority-oriented prime-time program North Star in Baltimore, the critically acclaimed Say Brother in Boston, and the children’s program, The Big Blue Marble.  He was a radio announcer and producer in  San Francisco and a talk show host  in Washington, D.C.  He produced the film Breaking the Chains of Bondage, which centered on the first national demonstration in Washington, D.C. supporting the liberation struggles in southern Africa.

He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army. As a military officer, he taught military science at Bowie State University in Maryland and at Georgetown and Howard Universities in Washington, D.C.  Colonel Slade was Acting Chief of the National Guard Bureau in Houston and served on the National Guard Drug Reduction Board at the Pentagon.

Other accomplishments include marching with Dr. Martin Luther King on the March on Washington on August 28, 1963 and founding the fraternity Iota Phi Theta, Inc., about which he has written two books.

He continues to serve on a number of boards, including the Executive Council of the AARP in Washington, D.C.;  the Board of Directors of the National Iota Foundation; and the Longwood University Board of Visitors.  In addition, he currently is a lobbyist for the Association of Reserve Minority Service –Members (ARMS) and serves as the organization’s director.

He is married to Deborah Douglas-Slade and has one son, Kenyatta.

Jan. 4, 2010 UPDATE:
You can listen to Colonel Slade’s sermon, “Journey of Our Lives,” by clicking on this link.

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“Advent Conspiracy”

Posted on December 3rd, 2009

Pastor’s Column, published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for December, 2009)

Starting last Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent, I began a new sermon series called “Advent Conspiracy.”  Too often, preachers and Christians have complained that Christmas has become too commercialized, too much of the world and of the checkout line.  Well, this year, I hope we can actually do something about that as we conspire against the prevailing powers of this world to live out and witness the true meaning of Christmas.

During these Sundays of Advent, we will learn how to worship more fully our true God and not the god of consumerism, because Christmas begins and ends with Jesus.  We will also learn how to reorder our desires so that we’ll spend less on ourselves this Christmas in order to free our resources for things that truly matter.  We will practice giving more to others of our presence, our hands, our words, our time, and our hearts.  Finally we will be challenged to love all – the poor, the forgotten, the marginalized, the sick, in ways that make a difference – because after all, for God so loved the world, that He send His only begotten Son.  And during our Christmas Eve service, we will collect an offering to give solely to our community, so that even as we receive God’s greatest gift to us, we may, in our thankfulness and joy, share that gift with those around us. Read the rest of this entry »

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12/24 – Christmas Eve Service

Posted on December 1st, 2009

We will have our traditional candlelight Christmas Eve service on Wednesday, December 24 at 5:00 p.m.

We will celebrate communion by intinction during the service, and we will collect a love offering to our community as a way to share the love of Christ with others.

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12/13 – Christmas Dinner & Caroling

Posted on November 30th, 2009

All are invited to our church-wide Christmas Pot-Luck Dinner on Sunday, December 13 at 5:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.

The church will provide the meat, green string beans and baked beans.

Please bring your favorite side dish and/or dessert to share for this pot-luck meal.

During the meal, we will write messages and sign Christmas cards that will be delivered to our shut-ins as we go caroling at around 6:15 p.m.

We will take our church van and carpool carolers to visit our homebound members and to the residents at The Woodlands.

Please join us as we celebrate the Advent season and spread the joy and love of Christ to members of our community through our songs and our presence!

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11/15 – College Led Worship

Posted on November 4th, 2009

On Sunday, November 15, our college students from Longwood University and Hampden-Sydney College will lead our worship service.

They will be leading prayers and readings, skits and offering special music.  Longwood junior Jake Luginbuhl will give the sermon titled:  “Do Not Worry.”

After the service, our College Committee will host a luncheon in the Fellowship Hall for our students.  All college students and “adoptive parents” are invited to attend the luncheon.

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