950 Self Street Franklinton, LA 70438

Phone: (985) 839-3427Fax: (985) 839-3572

Email:fbc.natasha@gmail.com www.fbcfranklinton.org

Sunday Bible Study 9:15 a.m.

Sunday Morning Worship 8:15 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Evening Worship6:00 p.m.

Wednesday Evening Worship6:00 p.m. Activities

The BridgeJune 2014Monthly Newsletter of First Baptist Church Franklinton

Paul Watts, Pastorfbc.paulwatts@gmail.com

FATHERS : YOUR MISSION SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT…Hardly a day goes by when I am not reminded of the overwhelming responsibility and the abundant joy God has given me as a father. Almost eleven years ago, Christina and I became parents and our lives were forever changed. Our church family began to bless and support our efforts to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord from the very first day, yet God has continually reminded me of my God-given responsibility in the home. Over the past eleven years certain scriptures have increasingly been impressed upon my heart.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:1-4

These scriptures remind us of the life-long ramifications of the teachings our children receive in our homes. Fathers have been given a special place of influence and responsibility in this process. Never is the primary responsibility for spiritual training given to the mother. Mothers have a vi-tal part in the process, but fathers are accountable before the Lord for their position of authority and instruction. How can we as Christian fathers embrace this responsibility? I think there are two foundational things we should all be doing:

1. Talk about Jesus I know that seems so simple, but when was the last time Jesus was the subject of a family conversation in your home? When your child is struggling with a relationship at school or with submitting to your authority, do you take the time to pray with him/her over the issue? Are you consistently engaging your children in a time of family devotion? If the answer is no, why not? It’s really not that difficult. If you can read and pray, you can do it. The results will astound you. If you give the Lord an opportunity to work in your child’s life, He will. Last year my daughter Lydia prayed to receive Christ during our family devotion time. She actually did so at her brother’s prompting during that time. She had heard the Gospel many times at church and in our home prior to this. We ought to begin witnessing to our children when they are born.

2. Live for Jesus Family devotions and night time prayers will mean little if they do not flow out of a life-giving relationship we model each day before our children. None of us are perfect, yet we should be growing in holiness as we continually submit ourselves to the Lord. Your children know you. You might be able to fake the Christian-life for a couple of hours on Sunday, but your children know whether you are living for Christ. If our children have fathers who serve the Lord in a half-hearted, hypocritical way, we should not be surprised when they reject this brand of Christianity. The Father rejects it as well. Repent, and go all in! Turn from your selfishness and sin! Make following Christ your #1 priority, and your children will see the difference. They may not always agree with you, but they will respect your stand for Christ.

In a world that measures success based upon achievement and appearance, where are you focusing your efforts? What a pity it would be for us to raise children who are successful in every arena except the one with eternal ramifications? What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and to lose his soul (Matthew 16:26)?

Discipleship 101 Schedule

Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m.

June 8th - Evangelizing Children

June 15th - Father’s Day No services

June 22nd - Regeneration: You must Be Born Again!

June 29th - Mission Testimony: Eddie Robison South Asia

A Cup with Pastor Paul http://acupwiththepastor.blogspot.com

A Cup with Pastor Paul http://acupwiththepastor.blogspot.com

Mission Report

In October, 2000, suicide bombers

attacked the USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen. Nine months later FBI agents were ready

to make arrests of the suspects in the attack. The agents were on the flight with our group from the New Orleans seminary. The message we received read: “From the State Department of the United States of America, URGENT WARNING: Due to the instability of certain factions within the region, all unnecessary civilian and U.S. Embassy personnel are advised to leave the country of Yemen. The State Department also strongly advises against all business and tourist travel to Yemen until further notice.” We gathered with our team leaders as they read that message to us. We were given two options: we could heed the warning and stay home until a safer time, or we could go ahead with the mission as planned. Believing that God had ordained that we go, we chose the latter. Our mission was to go to Yemen, engage local people in the towns where we stayed, distribute the Ara-bic Bibles we each smuggled into the country to anyone who would take one, and encourage our personnel on the ground there. The insertion point was the capital city of Sanaa’. From there we would split into two teams, with one team headed south to Aden, and the other team (the one that I was a part of) would go west to Al Hudayda, and then north to Hajja. We would regroup in three weeks and head home. For the first few days we were very covert in our mission, but eventually our cover was blown when one of our team members was asked about dating and marriage in the U.S.. They answered, “We are Christians, and we

believe that God’s plan for marriage is one man and one woman for life.” From that point on the conversations and questions wherever we went took on religious overtones. One young man asked me, “Why is it that you Christians worship three gods (a reference to the doctrine of the Trinity)?” 1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” At that time I didn’t have a seminary degree. In fact, I had been a Christian for a little over five years. I answered as best I could that we worship one God, but He is three distinct persons. I used the example that I am a father, but I’m also a son and a brother, yet I am only one person. The illustration is weak, I know, but it was the best I could do at the moment. We live in a world that has many questions about faith, hope, God, and the future. Some of the questions are hard, I’ll admit, but most of them are based on answering the question of why we believe what we believe. By the way, it’s okay to say, “I don’t know, but I will try to find out and get back to you.” Dr. Stan Statham, our Director of Missions, once said, “God doesn’t need our knowledge about Him in heaven. He’s given that to us to share with people here on earth so they will know who He is.” If we’re truly saved, if Jesus is truly the Lord of our lives, then we have the message of hope within us. We have a story to tell, and that story is uniquely ours. The question is are we ready? Are we prepared? The mission goes on; are you playing your part? God bless,

Bro. Dale

Dale Parker,Minister to Senior Adults& Discipleship Training

fbc.daleparker@gmail.com

Cody Thomas, Student Pastor

fbc.codythomas@gmail.com

The theme for this year’s Vacation Bible School is Agency D3: Discover, Decide, Defend. The theme comes from 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” The children will discover the holiness of God, decide to follow after Christ with gentleness and respect, and defend their faith against the evils of this world. The children will be challenged to be Agents for the cause of Christ, to live out their faith boldly in a manner worthy of the gospel. Challenging children to live out their faith as Agents for the cause of Christ is an awesome truth to teach because the world we live in needs Christian Agents. While the world needs bold Agents for Christ, our VBS needs Secret Agents.

Secret Agents? This idea sounds contradictory to scripture. Scripture tells us to live out our faith boldly, to follow Christ at all cost, to live in such a way that people see our good works and God is glorified … YES, but we are also called to be Secret Agents. Matthew 6 speaks of two things the follower of Christ should do in secret: fast and pray. The discipline of fasting and praying is to be done in secret because it is a discipline of the person’s heart that is between that person and the Lord. We do not fast and pray so others will see us, but rather we are to fast and pray in order to make our request known to the Lord. Our fasting and prayers are between each person and the Lord. Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” I love that Jesus starts this sentence with “when you pray” meaning prayer is not optional. Prayer is for our good. Prayer is an opportunity to bring our request to the Lord. Prayer does not change the mind or heart of God, but rather prayer changes our minds and hearts to resemble the Lord. Prayer is meant for us. In this verse Jesus gives some great wisdom for prayer, “Go into your room and shut the door and pray.” Prayer is to be done in secret. We are called to be Secret Agents of PRAYER. Seems like when Vacation Bible School comes around, it’s all hands on deck; everyone at the church gets involved in some way or another. I’m so thankful for ALL the people who are actively involved in helping with VBS. VBS could not be done without all of you.

While we need and are grateful for all the Agents of Christ that help out during VBS, we desperately need people willing to be Secret Agents of prayer for VBS.

Here are several things all you Secret Agents of Prayer can pray for:

1. Pray for the hearts of the children 2. Pray for our adult Agents of VBS (helpers) 3. Pray for a safe, organized, and stress free environment 4. Pray for the weeks of preparation leading up to VBS

Thanks in advance to all you Secret Agents of Prayer.

REACHING In &

REACHING Out

Student Ministry Events

- Youth Help with VBS – June 1-6

Volleyball against East Fork Baptist Church Youth

Wednesday, June 4th 6:00 p.m.

Mandatory Parent and Youth camp meeting

Sunday, June 8th 5:00 p.m.

Summer Snowball Fight Wednesday, June 11th 6:00 p.m.

- Fuego Youth Camp – June 23-27

FUEGO camp in Eunice, Louisiana at Acadian Baptist Center.

June 23rd – 27th (Monday – Friday)

If you are one of those rare individuals who does not yet know what is happening the week of June second through the sixth, after perusing this edition of the Bridge, you will!! Vacation Bible School is one of those annual events in the life of most churches where EVERYONE, no matter what his usual place of service, can…and should…get involved. Several of our folks have been planning and preparing for weeks (or months) already, and many of us will be present during VBS to teach, to lead, to help, and to generally demonstrate to kids God’s love for them and His incredible plan for their lives. Now, here’s the EVERYONE part. Pray!! Pray especially for those who are teaching God’s Word, and pray for the children. Pray that they see and hear and experience God’s love (and ours) for them and that they would receive all that the Spirit reveals to them. Pray that those who are ready will give their hearts to Jesus. Do you remember when you first began to understand what others were sharing with you about God and how Jesus came into the world to declare the Kingdom of God? To this day I remember when the pastor shared with us in VBS what it really means to be convicted of our sin, to repent, to be forgiven, and to commit our lives to Jesus. Of course, as a kid who grew up in the church, I had heard all these things for years from my parents, Sunday School teachers, pastors, and others who loved me; but there is something uniquely different and special about VBS. I even remember where I was sitting and listening to our pastor at Memorial Baptist Church (the old building) in Bogalusa. I remember going to another church that had a baptistry to follow our Lord’s example, symbolizing my new life in Christ. It was many years later when I had a very unique experience of assurance that I belonged to Jesus, but so much of my understanding as a preadolescent boy came during those summers of VBS. Did you answer the question at the beginning of this paragraph? Think about how God brought you to Himself, realize how He uses VBS, and determine to get involved in leading kids to Jesus. Pray and volunteer if your schedule permits, and let’s see this place overrun with kids having fun learning about Jesus.

May I share one more thought about “the big picture” and how VBS (and church life, in general) fits into it? As I’ve been reading a lot in the Old Testament lately, I’ve run across this phrase often: the people (or a person) did evil in the sight of the Lord. Also, there are many places where God instructs His people to rid themselves of the evil among them. Much of it seems unusually harsh to us, but it was all about God preparing a holy people through whom the Messiah would come. So, what is evil? There are many ways to say it, of course; but, simply, it is the result of man’s rebellion against the Great Architect and His design for His creation. So, now as way back then, there is death and darkness and lifelessness and de-monic deception, all because man refuses to submit and still declares his way to be better than the Way of the Creator. Imagine the whole planet as a desert waste land sprinkled here and there with oasises of God’s love. Should not our church…and VBS…be one of those places where kids can escape this world to the embrace of Jesus? “Suffer the little children to come unto me,” Jesus declared. There are so many kids with little to no righteous influence in their lives. WE MUST BE THAT FOR THEM! It’s been said before: if we don’t teach them to love God, the world will teach them not to. Let’s invite them and bring them to VBS and watch as they discover the One who will quench their thirst and light their world.

Butch Reviere Minister of Music

fbc.butch@gmail.com

Note from Brother Butch

Children’s Ministry

Upcoming Events

Vacation Bible School is Monday, June 2nd through Friday, June 6th from 8:30 a.m. - noon. Lunch will be served at noon Monday through Thursday, andFriday’s Commencement will be at 11:20 a.m.The dress-up days are:Monday Retro VBS T-shirtTuesdayReporter/Journalist DayWednesday Hillbilly Hero DayThursday First Responder DayFriday VBS T-shirt day

The Mission for VBS this year is collection of items for Operation Christmas Child.

Kelly McElveen Director of Preschool/ Children’s Ministries

fbc.playschool@gmail.com

June 10th Audubon Zoo $11

June 17th Bogue Chitto State Park Day $2

June 24th Fun in the Sun Day at Mike & Bridgette Singleton’s

Rules:Tuesday activities are for children ages 3 to Completed 6th Grade. Kindergarten and below will require an adult chaperone to attend as well as necessary child safety seats.

All swimming/water activites require both boys and girls to wear a dark colored t-shirt.

Any child needing a ride, please call the church office on the day before no later than noon so transportation can be arranged.

To Sign up for text messaging alerts for the Preschool & Children’s Department, text FBCKIDS to 24587.

CentRi-Kid PaRent Meeting (Must attend one)Sunday night, June 8th at 5:00 p.m. ORWednesday night, June 11th at 7:00 p.m.

Meet in the Upstairs Children’s Department.

The meeting should last about 30 to 45 minutes. You will receive your Centri-Kid Parent’s Packet at this meeting. Hope to see you there!

Centri-Kid CampJuly 14th - 18th OR July 28th—August 1st

For more detailed info on each event, check the bulletin each week.

Thank You!!To all of our church family for the many prayers & helpful donations!!

We will be taking the summer off from donations while we take stock & finish moving into our new resource room. In August, we will publish a

new list of helpful items to save for us. Many, many thanks!!

PlaySchool News

New Study to Begin

Leslie Westmoreland WINGS Coordinator

lwestmoreland.ees@wpsb.org

WINGS Ministry

Biloxi, MS: MS Coast ColiseumJune 27-28, 2014

Tickets $69 Hotel info: La Quinta Inn and Suites in Biloxi (228-392-5978)Take Exit 44 off of I-10 (Rooms have one King bed and sleeper sofa)One person in a room ($108.88) Two people in a room ($54.44)

Free Breakfast and Outdoor Pool/Hot tub

Schedule for the Conference:Friday, June 27th 5:30 p.m. Doors Open to Attendees7:00 p.m. Event Begins9:30 p.m. DismissSaturday, June 28th 7:30 a.m. Doors Open8:30 a.m. Event Begins10:00 a.m. Break10:45 a.m. Event Resumes12:15 p.m. Event Concludes

**Remember to bring your Bible, pen, and notebook.**

The WINGS Ministry will be hosting a Mugs and Muffins on Saturday, July 26th at 9:00 a.m. This event will take place in the Family Life Center. The guest speaker will be Katie Breland.

Mugs and Muffins

Angela Thomas’s

Do You Think I’m Beautiful?

Begins Wednesday, June 18th

at 6:00 p.m.

Books Cost$ 16

Children’s Church

Month of June

John & Natasha Burris

for ages 3 to

Kindergarten

Nursery

6/1 Sally Foy & Angela McVea

6/8 Eva Beahm & Carolyn Knight

6/15 Ann Hingle & Velma Crowe

6/22Pauline Bankston & Sherri Brown

6/29Brenda Allen & Dianne Cruce

Sunday Night Supper

6/1 VBS Kick-off

6/8 Watts, Schilling, Varnado, Sumrall, Bell, Kyger, Thomas & McElveen

6/15 - Father’s Day (no services)

6/22 Schilling, Bankston, Burris, Galloway, Waskom, McElveen, Raybourn & Sandifer

6/29 5th Sunday Potluck

Deacon Schedule

6/1 Jimmy Stafford & B. Burris

6/8 Stuart Varnado & Warren Cooke, Jr.

6/15 Joe Sandifer & Lance Schilling

6/22Tommy Wood & Richard McElveen

6/29Richard Knight & Matt Westmoreland

Volu

ntee

Rs f

oR Ju

neSound Schedule

6/1 Jordan Dale

6/8 Matt Westmoreland

6/15 Cody Thomas

6/22Stephen McElveen

6/29Darren Schilling

On Wednesday, June 11th, we will be having a mandatory CPR training and certification for our paid preschool, children, and youth workers. The hours of the training are 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. This training is also open to the congregation so, if you would like to participate, please call the church office by Wednesday, June 4th at 4:00 p.m. to register. The cost is $45 and includes a certification card.

Pray for Camp Fuego!

American Heart Heartsaver CPR AED Training Offered

Please be in prayer for our church members and others as they embark on their mission to Honduras. They will be leaving Monday, June 30th and returning on Sunday, July 6th.

While in Honduras, the team will be hosting a Vacation Bible School for the village children. Please be in prayer for the hearts of the children as they share the love of God with them.

This year a new dental mission will be added. This team will be helping with dental issues and with overall dental health.

There will also be a vet mission team going out in the village helping the farmers with their livestock. Please be in prayer for the vet team as they minister by helping the farms with their livelihood.

There will also be a group of ladies reaching out to the women and their children while they are there. Please be in prayer for these ladies and the women to whom they will share God’s love during the week.

The team members going on this years Mission Trip are:Jennifer Beason

Whitney CroweHunter KnightMallory KnightDenia McMillianDale ParkerMargie ParkerChris PenderBailey PenderDarren SchillingTracey SchillingAlan StaffordBruce ThomasPhyllis ThomasTerry ThompsonPaul WattsTitus Watts

Please be in prayer for our youth and the chaperones as they go to Camp Fuego in Eunice, LA. The dates of the camp are June 23rd - June 27th. While at Camp Fuego, they will be staying in the Acadian Baptist Center.

The Following is a list of names of those attending so you can pray for them individully.

Alison CreelBrady SladeHollie WaskomGreen NorthcutAustin LeboHaley VarnadoMallorie PitmanEmma BowmenMallory KnightSierra RoweNick WagerJohn Michael SingletonSciana LavergneMary Ann Singleton

Aspen WilliamsChessa DriskillKaitlin DriskillJonathan SealSpencer WatsonAbbie RobisonEmma RobisonSydney WatsonChris VarnadoBrennon GatewoodCameron GatewoodScotlyn WittenPierson WittenKasey SmithCrockett McElveenHannah Grace HennKatherine HaikLogan GoingsBailey JenkinsLaken RogersLaynea StaffordBrandon StaffordCody ThomasMallory ThomasSandi MorganKristina Varnado

Please help our mission work in Honduras by donating any of the listed items. A box will be placed under the Missions Bulletin

board throughout the month of June.

Please donate only new, unopened items.

Items Needed:1 subject notebooks pencils pencil sharpenerscrayonstoothpaste (full size)

dish towelslotion/cream (for women)pot holders

60 of each needed

Help for Honduras

AnnouncementsPray for Honduras Mission Trip

Please begin to pray for our Vacation Bible School. We hope to have great attendance by students, and we will be looking for plenty of volunteers to serve during the week.

If you feel led to be a part of this exciting time with kids, please contact Emily Phelps or Lori Schilling.

Classroom Decorating Day Sunday, June 1st

VBS Kick-off & Pre-RegistrationSunday, June 1st

For dress-up days, see the Children’s

Ministry Page.

Vacation Bible School

Children’s Book Now Available

Our own Diane James wrote and illustrated a children’s

book entitled Love Me Back, David’s Rock, and Crazy

Noah - Three Narrative Poems

We are pleased to announce that these books are now available in the church office for anyone interested in owning a copy for

$11.00.

Welcome our New FBC Members

Pam Baker Gregory Pittman

John & Heather Seals C.B. Williams

Not Pictured:

Britt Depre’

Kerri & Mike Cross

Pierson Whitten

PRSRT STDNONPROFIT

ORGANIZATIONUS POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 27

950 Self StreetFranklinton, LA 70438www.fbcfranklinton.org

First Baptist Church Franklinton

June 2014