March 2016

First Baptist Church Bozeman

Moment of confession from your pastor: at this point in my life, I’m not a fervent pray-er. Not terrible by any means, but certainly not a prayer warrior. I don’t like this about myself…and I want it to change.

I’m currently working my way through a really great and challenging book called The U-Turn Church, where the authors address how churches in decline might turn around and begin traveling the path toward health, vitality, and sustainability. I’m loving it so far and plan to actually preach through the first four chapters of the book in April when we finish our journey through Luke. But the chapter I most-recently finished was about the necessity of prayer in turning a church around…and it was terribly and wonderfully convicting.

The author declares that “desperate needs require desperate prayers,” and I couldn’t agree more. We find ourselves at a crossroads in the life of our church, desperately needing to turn the corner and head in a new direction toward healthy and faithful ministry

“My house will be a house of prayer.” Matthew 21:13

– and desperate prayer seems like a vital aspect of this change. So I’m committing to become a man and pastor of fervent prayer. I’m committing to praying for you all and our church and our community. I’m committing to praying for our future and that God would faithfully provide. I’m committing to boldly praying that God would use us to save the lost, heal the hurting, and comfort the brokenhearted. And I’m strongly inviting – compelling – you to join me in this prayer journey.

At first, this would begin as a commitment to more fervent personal prayer and prayer with your families. But I plan to help develop more corporate and communal ways of praying for God to turn our church around and help us move faithfully into the future. May our house of worship be transformed into a house of prayer.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jason

The Call to Prayer

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH BOZEMAN MARCH 2016

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The Rock Report- Gary Cook

ABW Ministries - Pat Newby

ABW MINISTRIES: Our small group of faithful women has been reeling by the hip and arm injuries of 2 of our members. Our prayers are with both Phyllis and Nadine and families (and with US, too)

as they recuperate. My, what a hole the absence of these two ladies makes! We will be having a meeting Wed. March 16 with a special guest speaker, Nancy Hoag, a friend of Ellie’s who will share her experiences with Habitat for Humanity around the world. We will also plan for an upcoming reception. More information to follow.

Grace is anxious to share her adventure to India with us soon. We have to catch up to her before she’s off on her trip to Croatia!

What’s going on at The Rock these days? As most of you know, Young Life Club for high school students meets at The Rock on Monday nights and Wyldlife Club for middle school students meets at The Rock on Thursday evenings. Each of these clubs meets for an hour, spending

about fifty minutes on games and skits to build relationships, then devoting the last ten minutes to a talk by one of the leaders, a talk consisting of a personal testimony and a meditation on scripture.

What you might not know is that some of the Young Life leaders have also started holding worship nights at The Rock. The call these times “Selah,” and the first was held on Friday night, February 12. Between thirty and forty young adults joined together to worship God through song, prayer, and praise. They hope to make “Selah” a regular event, and we hope they do. Let’s keep them in our prayers.

High school students from Cross Club are also continuing to hold monthly worship nights at The Rock. The next is scheduled for Tuesday, March 1. Also keep this group in your prayers.

Several of our after school regulars want to continue our movie series nights this spring. They have decided that we should view and discuss the Harry Potter films. Why is this important? Listen to Alan Rickman, who portrayed Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films: “And it is a human need to be told stories. The more we’re governed by idiots and have no control over our destinies, the more we need to tell stories to each other about who we are, why we are, where we come from, and what might be possible.” The Harry Potter books and films are filled with stories about those very things; so is the bible. There’s a natural (if not explicit) connection between the two. There are stories about being lost, orphaned, alone. Stories about the difference between appearance and reality. Stories about good and evil, treachery and betrayal. Stories about friendship, trust, and self-sacrifice. Stories about overcoming prejudice. Stories of hope and redemption. Stories of who we are, why we are, where we come from, and what might be possible. We all need those stories. And films are good ways of entering into conversations around those themes. Keep this in your prayers, too.

Finally, to keep The Rock open so that all these good happenings can continue, we will again participate in this year’s Bozeman Area Community Foundation’s “Give Big Gallatin Valley” day of online giving. The date is Tuesday, May 3. Mark your calendars. Tell your friends. Good things are happening. Good news is being proclaimed. Good prayers are needed. We all thank you!

Mission Ministry: One Thing- Christina Herron-Sweet

It’s a simple concept...that matches it’s simple name. We do ‘one thing’ a month. One thing of service. One thing to help. One thing to bless our community. One thing to form us in the way of Jesus. Sometimes it might involve buying something for someone else. Sometimes it will involve action - a spiritual practice. But through all of these monthly experiments in mission, we hope to be shaped into people of love and grace and blessing - into true followers of Jesus.

For Lent 2016, we are engaging in a mission experiment where our congregants will be challenged to only drink water for the entirety of Lent. We will keep track of the money we have saved by not drinking other things like coffee, tea, and soda - and will commit to donating that money to the organization Charity:Water to help build wells around the world. We will be collecting money during worship services on Sunday mornings during the season of Lent.

Family Promise is in their 10th year of serving the Bozeman community! There are a number of events happening in the community, the first being a Family Promise Breakfast with keynote from the original founder. Thursday, March 3 at 8am at The Emerson. Order tickets on the Family Promise website.

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upstairs during worship and then going downstairs rather than doing a structured Children’s Church. They would like to launch a full children’s Sunday school program in the fall.

Hallie Kronebusch, our Administrative Assistant, feels that she needs to scale back some with the new baby. The Leadership Team discussed having Hallie work as our graphic designer for the Link, bulletin, etc. largely from home for about five hours per week and hiring an additional part-time person as an office assistant for about five hours per week. These plans were discussed with the congregation at a meeting on 2/14. We will be exploring these possibilities in the coming weeks.

The Leadership Team also discussed having a black-out shade installed on the front window on the south side of the sanctuary to reduce glare on the projection screens when the sun is bright. This issue has been considered several times over the past few years, but a decision was delayed mainly due to cost. The estimated cost of the shade with installation is $600.

Let us remember to keep Pastor Jason, the church, and The Rock in our 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 and our small groups, for Pastor Jason and Mandy and their family, and for The Rock’s future. Pray that God will help to meet our needs and that we will be a faithful church in all that we do. Also pray for your Leadership Team as they seek God’s wisdom and guidance for FBC. 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 Carl Fahlstrom.

The Leadership Team reviewed the First Baptist Church financial reports for January at our meeting on 2/3/16. The Non-Designated General Fund

balance as of 1/31/16 was $48,996. The balance in the Unencumbered Reserve Fund as of 1/31/16 was $589,439, which reflects the January transfer of $6,500 to the General Fund to cover Senior Pastor contract expenses (salary, housing allowance, health insurance, etc.). The Pledge & Plate giving for January was $3,680.50 of which $1,679.00 was designated for the Escrow Fund. Total General Fund expenses for January, including the Senior Pastor and the Escrow contribution, were $13,510. Total General Fund expenses without the Senior Pastor were $4,952.

Gary Cook reported that The Rock will again participate in the Gallatin Valley Give Big online fundraising event in May. He is continuing to work on other fundraising and development projects as well.

The Leadership Team discussed the ordination process for Pastor Jason and will plan for a local ordination service later in the spring.

The Parenting Workshop has finished. It went well with an average of 25 adults and 12-15 children at each session. The speaker provided great content, and the participants were very appreciative. Pastor Jason plans to have the group meet once a month in March, April, and May on Saturday mornings for breakfast and a discussion on a selected parenting topic.

The Animate: Faith small group continues to meet weekly on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm at the Mottram’s home.

The Children’s Ministry team met on 1/24 to discuss the Children’s Ministry program for the spring and summer. During the summer, the team has suggested doing a Children’s Sermon

Leadership Team Meeting Report- Robin Moore, Secretary

Mission Ministry: One Thing- Christina Herron-Sweet

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