December 2015

First Baptist Church Bozeman

The season of Advent is a time of waiting. It is a time to slow down, reflect, anticipate, and hope – for a new Kingdom and new life to emerge in the world. It’s a peaceful time. A quiet time. A time for silence and solitude.

At least it’s supposed to be.

In actuality, Advent has become a season of busyness and bluster. A time of shopping and parties, concerts and events. It’s a race to the finish line, wrapping and assembling gifts into the wee hours of Christmas Eve. And the church is not exempt, filling our calendars instead of stopping to rest. Extra services, extra sermons, extra events. And they are all good and meaningful and holy, and yet collectively, can rob the true meaning of the Advent season.

Here in my first Advent as a pastor, I am viscerally sensing the busyness of this time of year. I feel the anxiety of the holiday season and desperately need to be reminded – daily, even – to wait, pause, slow down, and enjoy the gift of the Christmas season. I pray that you’ll join me in this effort. May we, as a church, take seriously this significant rhythm built into the church calendar. May we embrace Advent and allow it to teach us and shape us. And may we truly learn to wait – expectantly hoping and longing for Jesus to arrive anew, afresh.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jason

The Need for Advent

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH BOZEMAN DECEMBER 2015

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The Rock Report- Gary Cook

ABW Ministries - Pat Newby

Head Start again requests pre school (ages 4-6) sized mittens (or gloves)—120 pair! Please help us as we collect them for

Bozeman and Belgrade. Dec. 15th is the Deadline for mittens.

Please come and celebrate with us Christ’s birth as we enter the holy season of 2015.

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

Wednesday December 2, 2015 6:00 p.m.O Come Let Us Adore Him

Invite your in-laws, out-laws, sisters, mothers and friends. Please bring hot or cold salads and a plate of Christmas cookies or candies all to share.

How far and wide does The Rock reach?

Three stories from the past month.

Tammy loves to look at Craig’s List. A few weeks ago she found some rustic, metal hardware

offered for sale: switch plate covers, towel racks, outlet covers, coat hooks, etc. As we are repairing our girls’ rooms, we contacted the seller and made an appointment to look at the pieces. Somehow the conversation turned to what we do. We said we worked at The Rock and the seller exclaimed, “We love The Rock!” She then proceeded to tell the story of her friend’s son who had a difficult time in high school but came to The Rock each day after school. I remembered the young man by name. She felt sure that The Rock had saved his high school career.

While we were talking, the seller’s friend walked in. Turns out, after a few “you-seem-familiar-have-we-met moments,” that this friend had interviewed me about The Rock for her senior project at MSU several years ago. She talked on-and-on about The Rock and insisted on giving Tammy and me a group hug before we left, proclaiming, “The Rock is performing a great service for this community.”

A week or so later Tammy went into Lowe’s for some more hardware for the renovation project. As is her habit, she initiated a conversation with the salesperson assisting her, and the conversation once again came around to The Rock. The salesperson exclaimed, “We love The Rock!” She told us her son comes to The Rock regularly after school and that it has been a great help for him and for her. She pulled out her phone to show Tammy a photo of her son. Since Tammy isn’t normally around after school she did not recognize the boy, but the woman’s enthusiasm for The Rock did not waver.

Last week our cable television service needed some attention and our provider sent a technician out to help. Tammy chatted with the technician as he was diagnosing the problems. Again, the conversation turned to The Rock. And again, “We love The Rock!” was the refrain. This technician’s daughter was in the grade

between our daughters, and she was evidently a handful. He hoped she hadn’t been too much trouble for us and Tammy assured him that she hadn’t. He was so thankful that she had a place to go after school that was safe since she had formed some bad habits with some questionable friends.

As these three episodes show, our presence is having a positive effect on Bozeman. Why don’t you test our reach while you’re out and about in Bozeman? While you’re having conversations with friends and strangers just mention that you belong to the church that sponsors The Rock. See what happens.

Please come and celebrate with us Christ’s birth as we enter the holy season of 2015.

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

Wednesday December 2, 2015 6:00 p.m.

O Come Let Us Adore HimInvite your in-laws, out-laws, sisters, mothers and friends

Please bring hot or cold salads and a plate of Christmas cookies or candies all to share.

Please come and celebrate with us Christ’s birth as we enter the holy season of 2015.

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

Wednesday December 2, 2015 6:00 p.m.

O Come Let Us Adore HimInvite your in-laws, out-laws, sisters, mothers and friends

Please bring hot or cold salads and a plate of Christmas cookies or candies all to share.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH BOZEMAN DECEMBER 2015

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The Mission Ministry Team has discussed improving communication with the congregation of available mission and service opportunities. The “One Thing” mission program is underway with the “Mitten Tree” as our current mission project. We need to collect 120 pairs of mittens for 3- to 5-year olds in the Headstart Program in Bozeman and Belgrade by 12/15.

The Worship Ministry Team met on 11/13 to help Pastor Jason plan the Downtown Thanksgiving Service which FBC hosted on Sunday, 11/22. This service went very well with 63 people in attendance. The group also made plans for the upcoming Advent Season.

Several maintenance issues were discussed in November. The front step repair, the gutter cleaning, and possible window shades for the sanctuary are all on hold at the moment as we await further information. New signage is now in place inside the church building to help visitors and newcomers better find their way around.

Other business which the Leadership Team addressed in November included finalizing the Senior Pastor Job Description and the Senior Pastor’s Contract, discussing revision of the Bylaws and the Guiding Principles, crafting the 2016 Draft Budget, developing a 5-Year Sustainability Plan, and discussing Leadership Team member rotations and finding new Leadership Team members for 2016. We hope to have the 2016 Draft Budget ready for approval by the congregation in December. The Annual Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, 1/17/16.

Remember to keep Pastor Jason, the church, and The Rock in your prayers daily as we all work together to discern God’s will and direction for FBC and The Rock. Continue to be in prayer for visitors, for ways to share Christ’s presence in your life with others and to be inviting, for our Children’s Ministry, for Jason and Mandy and their family as they assume a challenging new role, for The Rock’s future, and that God will help to meet our needs. Also pray for your Leadership Team as they seek God’s wisdom and guidance for FBC in the weeks and months ahead. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to speak with Pastor Jason or members of the Leadership Team. Leadership Team members are: Gary Cook, Grace Holiday, Austin Beard, Robin Moore, and Ken Mottram.

The October financial reports for First Baptist Church (FBC) were reviewed at the Leadership Team meeting on November 4. The Non-Designated General Fund balance as of 10/31/15 was $67,573.00. This balance reflects the two transfers

in September and October from the Unencumbered Reserve Fund for Senior Pastor expenses through December 2015. The balance in the Unencumbered Reserve Fund is now $595,654.00.

October Pledge & Plate giving was $4,707.00, of which $1,679.00 was designated for the Escrow Fund. The Escrow Fund expenses for October were $1,650.00. The total General Fund expenses for October were $6,384.16, which included $4,840.87 for Senior Pastor expenses. The remaining General Fund expenses were $1,543.29. Our total General Fund and Escrow expenses exceeded the monthly Pledge & Plate giving by $3,327.16.

Our current special offering is the World Mission Offering. We have collected $65.00 for this offering as of 11/22.

Gary Cook reported on happenings at The Rock. Gary is planning to show the Star Wars movies 4, 5, and 6 as a run-up to the new Star Wars movie release on 12/18. He would like to take a group of students to see the new movie when it is out. Gary is entering a fundraising phase for next year (2016) and will be searching for potential new donors to support the work of The Rock.

The Leadership Team heard reports from the three ministry teams. The Community Ministry Team has met a couple of times to develop visitor follow-up procedures. They also discussed the Newcomer’s Lunch which was hosted after worship on 11/8. Some new small groups will start in January. Ken Mottram is planning to lead a video series called Animate: Faith on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm. This is an imaginative exploration of Christianity’s big questions. Mandy Bowker is organizing a parenting class for January/February as more of an outreach ministry. These groups will be in addition to our current ABW meetings, Tuesday morning Bible Study, and the College/Young Adult group.

Leadership Team Meeting Report- Robin Moore, Secretary

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