Resourcing Kingdom leaders and Kingdom churches to win our communities to Christ! December 2015

INSIDE: Annual Meeting

Wrap--up BSU Ministry 2016 Events Minister’s Prayer Breakfast

addition Rev. Bob Long as

Associate Director of Missions

TCBA Churches

Seeking Pastors

I suppose it is typical to begin a year-end newsletter column saying “Looking back over the past year…” As much as I don’t like being “typical”, I can’t help but think about how much God has done through our churches via our TCBA ministries in 2016.

God allowed us to support amazing and creative outreach ministries among our churches in all 3 of our counties, because of your faithful giving to local missions.

God allowed more kids than ever to participate in our summer camps, and He granted us a harvest of 17 decisions for Jesus.

God allowed us to send Disaster Relief volunteers to serve in 2 states outside of Missouri, and also serve here at home during the heavy rains this year.

God allowed us to continue touching college students with the love of Christ, through our wonderful BSU ministry at the College of the Ozarks.

God allowed us to distribute over 200 Bibles to jail ministries in Christian, Stone and Taney Counties.

God allowed us to train local men for ministry, through the Tri County Bible Institute.

God allowed us to train Sunday School and Bible study teachers how to teach like Jesus taught.

And there’s more, that I can’t fit into this small space. But I can’t help but be amazed and humbly grateful to our God, who has allowed these things to take place. And I know that these things happened because His people decided to work together—we realize that we can do more together for our King than we can alone.

Now, turning the page on 2015, we look forward to a new year, with new opportunities to serve the Master, more occasions to lay up treasure in heaven. I’m excited about what the new year will bring. Challenges, to be sure, but nothing so great that our God cannot handle.

I am grateful to you, our TCBA churches, for giving me the chance to work with you. I pray you have a wonderful Christmas season. I’ll see you on the field in 2016.

Phillip Shuford Director of Missions

for your church… for the Kingdom!

We are rapidly approaching the end of our fall semester, but for the first time since we have been here, that doesn’t mean wrapping up our sermon series. This year our leadership team thought it would be a good idea to spend the whole year in 1 Corinthians, rather than doing a one semester sermon series. The drawback is the long break at Christmas time, some who will graduate in December, and other new students who will jump in halfway through the book in January. Yet it provides so many opportunities. A long and rich letter like 1 Corinthians really needs more than a 14-week semester, so having a year-long sermon series allows us to cover an Important book that we otherwise couldn’t tackle. Also, we are trying to model the local church to point students towards the local church, and last I checked, churches don’t start new sermon series every time a new face shows up, or start over if someone had to take a few weeks off! It has been a great experience for us as we have dealt with difficult passages that often get neglected. One of the highlights of the semester came this past week when one of our recent alumni, Andy Petry, came and preached on 1 Corinthians 8. Andy was on our leadership team when Kristin and I took over BSU in February of 2012. Andy continued on our leadership team until his graduation in May 2013, then spent a year as a worship intern for us from May 2013 until May 2014. During this time he along with another worship intern trained our current worship interns, Ben Lange and Ethan Lane. Both Ben and Ethan were there on Monday to help lead as Andy came back to preach—what an exciting thing to see the way God is working through these awesome men!

There’s so much more happening, from our first BSU conference in October on the topic of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood to an oil change event benefiting students on campus to over 80 students involved in BSU small groups and so much more. Check out www.cofobsu.com to keep up to date with all that is going on here at BSU on the campus of College of the Ozarks.

In Christ, Kyle and Kristin Rapinchuk BSU Directors/Campus Missionaries

BSU update

Something special happens when God’s people get together. On September 24th, something special happened when over 100 believers from 19 Stone, Taney and Christian County churches gathered at the First Baptist Church of Kimberling City to conduct God’s business and to worship together as extended family in Christ.

After a short business session (which included a “note-burning” ceremony to celebrate the retirement of the debt on TCBA’s office building in Nixa), worship began. Worship in song was wonderfully led by Jim Evans, worship pastor at FBC-Kimberling City and the FBC-KC worship ministry. The service was punctuated with times of prayer in small groups. Pastors Ed Lassley and Jeff Updegraff gave exciting testimonies about how God has been blessing Prospect Baptist Church in Ozark (TCBA’s oldest congregation) with an amazing season of vitality and growth—something only God could do! Dr. Alvin Reid challenged our people from Acts 4:24 “What Happens When God’s People Pray?” Dr. Reid explained that when Christians pray, they look up, they are given an undeniable purpose, and they receive Spirit-led guidance. The service concluded with another time of joint prayer.

God is at work in our TCBA churches, and He created something special at our Annual Meeting this year. Thanks to FBC-Kimberling City for being such gracious hosts—but most of all, thanks be to God, from Whom all blessings flow!

Something only God could do TCBA’s 40th Annual Meeting

EXCITING THINGS ARE COMING IN 2016! In 2016, TCBA will be partnering with churches and ministries to...

pastor-staff corner

Diploma in Pastoral Ministries Next course: New Testament Survey 1

class begins Monday, January 11 at TCBA’s office

Info at www.tcsba.com

MISSOURI EVANGELISM CONFERENCE February 4-5, 2016

Crossway Baptist, Springfield Event Pastor: Greg Frizzell

Speakers include Michael Catt, Vernon Armitage and Bill Eliff

information: mobaptist.org

Win our communities to Christ!

PREVIEW February 15

6:30 Association Office

for pastors & directors

CLINIC April 25

6:30 FBC Nixa

VBS in TCBA!

Build stronger and healthier churches!

TCBA’s first-ever

DNOW WEEKEND

FOR: students

7—12 grade

WHEN/WHERE: April 1-3

@ Baptist Hill

COST: $30/student TCBA will be sending details to our

churches after January 1.

Strengthen our leaders!

TCBA SUMMER CAMPS!

June 6-9 @

Baptist Hill

Children: grades 3-5 Jr. High: grades 6-8

Imagine Bible teaching that not just informs,

but transforms!

Transform Conference August 27 at FBC Ozark

8:00am-2:30pm

MINISTERS BREAKFAST AND PRAYER:

Pastor, don’t be a loner in 2016—we need each other! Open to all pastors and church staff. No program or denomina-tional “push”; it’s all about fellowship and prayer (with breakfast thrown in, provided by your association.) Now with three opportunities every month. Only one ground rule: we don’t talk numbers! : -)

3rd Thursday @ 8 a.m. Ozark: Village Inn

3rd Thursday @ 8 a.m. Branson: Golden Corral

NEW in 2016! 3rd Saturday @ 8 a.m.

Spokane: Gateway Café

REV. BOB LONG AS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF MISSIONS IN 2016

We welcome Rev. Bob Long as TCBA’s part-time Associate Direc-tor of Missions, beginning in Jan-uary 2016. Bob knows Tri County well, having served as Pastor here for 23 years, and as President and Moderator (for more years than anyone can remember.) Although Bob will be only serving part-time, he will be an invaluable asset to churches as TCBA seeks to be more effective in ministering to pastors in our family of churches. Pray for Bob!

TRI-COUNTY BAPTIST ASSOCIATION PO Box 370 239 E Downing St Nixa, MO 65714 Phone: 417-725-8825 Fax: 417-725-8835

Return Service Requested

STAFF: Phillip Shuford, Director of Missions phillip@tcsba.com 417-597-0084 Meleta Getman, Financial Secretary & Ministry Assistant meleta@tcsba.com 417-827-2558 Kyle Rapinchuk, Campus Missionary cofobsu@gmail.com 417-598-0823

Non Profit Organization

Permit#33

Nixa, MO 65714

Pray for our churches between pastors:

FBC Crane Fairview

FBC Ozark Morning Star Pleasant View

Ponce Shady Grove

Shiloh Sparta FBC

Victory

OFFICE HOURS: Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Friday: 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Tri County has a list of supply preachers at www.tcsba.com

Happy Birthday, Pastors!Lane Harrison (LifePoint) 11/18 Dale Grubaugh (Smyrna) 11/26

Larry Winfree (Hurley) 12/5 Bobby Stout (retired) 12/22

Calendar

November 25-27 Thanksgiving (Office closed) December 4 6:30p Ministers & Wives Christmas

Dinner, FBC Ozark 10 11:00a Secretaries Christmas Luncheon, FBC Clever 24-Jan 4 Christmas Holiday, (Office Closed)

connect tcsba.com

Tri County Baptist

Association exists to

encourage, assist and

resource churches to

fulfill the Great Commission in

Christian, Stone and Taney Counties!