Download the church profile.

This report was presented to the congregation on Sunday, February 17, 2013

Committee Recognition:

• Cindy Cave (Co-Chair), Chuck Daniel (Co-Chair), Ken Copeland, Kevin Dunn, Jay Lynn, Elizabeth Whiley, Sandy Yeatts

Consultant Recognition:

• Bill Wilson (former FBC pastor) is facilitating on behalf of Center for Congregational Health
• This is a 5 Phase Process…we’re on Phase 3

Profiles Created:

• Church Profile Excerpt (Who We Are) is largely based on the interviews conducted by Jay Lynn after the 175th Anniversary; public document with which potential pastoral candidates might identify Expanded, more complete Church Profile will contain more membership, financial and other objective information…to come.
• Pastor Profile (Who We Need) is a confidential (so that potential pastoral candidates don’t customize their resumes to fit) document identifying the experience, skills, traits, and qualities needed to “fit” the Church Profile Excerpt

Current Status:

• Website link on www.farmvillebaptist.org created
• Ads placed with Religious Herald and Baptist Today…print & online
• Contacting “FBC Friends” to identify those (currently employed) who fit the FBC Profile
• Accepting resumes

Next:

• Consider candidates, check references, conduct interviews…confidential
• Continue to keep you informed on our progress

We (PSC) take very seriously the confidence you have placed in us and the responsibility with which you have entrusted us. We covet your prayers, support & encouragement as we seek to follow God’s will for FBC.

Each Sunday in January, the youth will be collecting both canned goods and monetary donations for FACES, our local food pantry. Please drop off your contributions in the baskets at the entrances to the sanctuary.

On February 5, we will announce our total collection as part of the nationwide “Souper Bowl of Caring” effort to help feed the hungry in our community.

• Cindy Cave
• Ken Copeland
• Chuck Daniel
• Kevin Dunn
• Jay Lynn
• Elizabeth Whiley
• Sandy Yeatts

Please keep those individuals in your prayers as we move forward with this very important process.

I would like to remind you that we have two significant church business meetings coming up in the next two weeks.  It is very important to have as many members present as possible at both meetings in order to get the best results in our search for a new pastor.  Please make every effort to attend.

This Sunday (July 29^th), following worship, we will have a called business meeting for the purpose of nominating candidates to serve on a Pastor Search Committee.  Our church constitution provides specific instructions on how that  process will be conducted, with the following essentials:

• Every member of the church is free to make one nomination.
• Consent to serve if elected must be obtained before placing the name in nomination.
• At the conclusion of this meeting, nominations are closed.

The following Sunday (August 5^th), following worship, we will have another called business meeting to vote on the nominations received.  Likewise, this process has a specific procedure:

• A ballot will be prepared with a list of nominees in alphabetical order.
• The ballot will be given to the members at the called business meeting.
• The seven members receiving the highest votes shall constitute the Pastor Search Committee.
• The Search Committee will make a recommendation of its choice of pastor to the church.

Please also keep in mind that our constitution does not make accommodations for absentee voting, therefore only member who are present at the time the ballots are distributed will be able to vote.

Thank you for your continued prayers and participation in our church family during this time of transition and opportunity.  If you have any questions regarding the life of our church over the next few months, please do not hesitate to ask.

Jay Lynn
Church Moderator

Dear Friends at Farmville Baptist Church,

With mixed emotions, I am writing to announce my resignation as pastor of Farmville Baptist. My last day at church will be Sunday, July 22, and we hope to move to Charlottesville sometime early August. As most of you know, on June 17, the congregation of University Baptist Church of Charlottesville, the church where I served as associate minister for close to nine years, voted to call me as their senior minister. While I am excited about this opportunity and this homecoming with friends, it is difficult to leave this church home, one also filled with close friends.

I want to thank you all for welcoming me, Beth, and the kids so warmly and sharing your lives with us for the past seven years. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving as your pastor. It has been a blessing to walk the journey of faith with you as we have worked and worshiped together. In my own family, you have supported me through many changes. In the words of Cecil Yeatts, you’ve “broken me in,” patiently guiding me in my growth from associate minister to pastor. Thea and Wes were seven and barely five when we arrived, and we appreciate your help over the years in teaching them Sunday School, directing their choirs, exposing them to missions, supporting their attendance at Passport camps, and much more. Beth has appreciated the ways you’ve been supportive and respectful, giving her the freedom to invest herself in ministry at the church without ever communicating to her that she is obligated to do so. When my parents-in-law moved to Farmville, you reached out to them, befriending them, visiting them, serving them the Lord’s Supper, and assisting with practical matters such as navigating stairs or repairing their car. All of us have felt supported by your prayers not only in times of illness or in moments of loss, but in our daily comings and goings.

In other words, even as I have ministered to you, you have ably ministered to me and my family, fulfilling the biblical images of being the body of Christ or the family of God. I know that my family is only one of countless many who have been touched by your prayers, service, and kindness. May God bless you richly in the months and years to come.

In Christ, Michael

These past several weeks have been a season of graduations in our church and community. We saw many of our college students, including our own Liz Chassey and Ryan Yeatts, earn degrees. Carter Chassey and Charlotte Cave graduated with honors (both of them!) from Prince Edward High School and Fuqua High School. Last week, I attended the graduation ceremony at Prince Edward Middle School and watched with pride as my daughter Thea and Erin Copeland walked up the stage to receive their certificates. There were many joyful moments as parents, family members and friends proudly celebrated the accomplishments of these young people. On Sunday, June 3, we will have an opportunity as a congregation to honor and recognize our graduates at the end of worship.

As we celebrate with these young people the completion and end of a significant chapter in their lives, we also anticipate the dawning of a new chapter. Graduation is not just the end; it is also the beginning, the commencement of something new, something different, but no less important. For some graduates, the future is pretty certain: high school or college. For others, the future is still not too clear as they seek employment or acceptance from graduate schools. But in all these situations, we have faith that God will be with them, leading them every step of the way.

At the end of the book of Revelation, the apostle John recorded a vision of the Lord proclaiming, “Behold, I am making all things new!” God continues to be at work making things new, not just for these graduates, but for all of us, as we continue in our journey of faith. New chapters are constantly unfolding before us as each day contains the possibility of the commencement, the beginning of something new that God is doing. Some of those things may be eagerly anticipated; others not so much. But in all these situations, we have faith that God will be with us, leading us every step of the way with hope into God’s future.

So, as we recognize our graduates on their school commencements, let us also recognize that each day is the commencement of something new that God wants to make in each of our lives!

In Christ, Michael

Farmville Baptist VBS!

Mark your calendars!  Farmville Baptist will be offering Group’s PandaMania Vacation Bible School this summer!

Dates: Sunday through Thursday, July 22-26, 2012

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Who: children age 3 to completed 5th grade

Cost: FREE

To register . . .

One of the joys of living in Virginia is the fact that we have four distinct seasons. My favorite season is the season of spring. Every year during this time, I marvel at the transformation of the world around us as the drab, dull, dead of winter give way to the vibrant, living colors of spring. Even though I suffer from seasonal allergies, the aggravation of sniffles and itchy eyes is worth the beauty of seeing the yellow branches of forsythia, the white blossoms of the Bradford pear, the purple redbud, and the greening of new grass and leaves! It gives me great joy to see and experience the transformation of life.

In the past couple of months, I also have had the joy of seeing transformation in the lives of the participants in our discipleship huddle groups. For ten weeks, fourteen Longwood students met at Farmville Baptist on Tuesday nights from 8 to 10 p.m. to deepen their connections with one another and to strengthen their relationship to Christ. Jim Davis and I had the privilege of seeing the joy of life transformation in these young lives. At our last meeting, these students shared what they’re taking away from this experience and here are some of the things they said:

“I feel much closer to God and to each person here in this group.”

“I’m opening up more and sharing what God is doing in my life with others.”

“I’ve been affirmed in my God-given gifts and abilities.”

“I’m feeling more confident about myself as a child of God.”

Similarly, I’m seeing transformation in the lives of the seven women who have been meeting together in a discipleship huddle group on Sunday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. Some of them shared their experience during worship on April 29, but here are some of the things they have said during our meetings:

“God is helping me to focus on peace and forgiveness instead of negativity.”

“I’m more in tune with God’s plans—instead of my plans—for me.”

“God has released me from a pain that I’ve been carrying for a long time.”

“I’m beginning to feel more connected to people at Farmville Baptist.”

“Instead of controlling my life, I’m learning to let God have control.”

What a joy and privilege it has been for me to walk along side these individuals and see the ways that God is working in their lives! As a pastor, what a blessing it has been for me to witness the blossoming of individuals as they follow Jesus and live the abundant life that they have been created to live! For me, this is what church is all about—the transformation of lives so that the body of Christ can live into its calling to be the presence and blessing of Christ in the world. May God continue this transforming movement in more and more lives here at Farmville Baptist!

Yours in Christ, Michael