Go & Make Issue #56 (May 2018)

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IN THIS ISSUE

14 COVER STORY: BAY AREA’S SOFTBALL TEAM With a mission to reach the lost and intersect with the secular community while being the hands and feet of Jesus, Bay Area’s Community Outreach team recently formed a recreational softball team.

8 CASELY’S EDITORIAL: GRACIOUS UNCERTAINTY As he prepares to transition into his new role as Secretary of the Global Christian Forum, Global Missions Pastor Casely Essamuah reflects on how God has worked in his life in uncertain times.

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10 RESIDENCY UPDATE: TREVIN HOEKZEMA Six months into the two-year residency program, former Local Outreach Coordinator Trevin Hoekzema shares about his passion for reaching the nations and his hopes for the future.

20 EASTER 2018: ONE CHURCH, THREE LOCATIONS Student Ministry Pastor Brent Squires and Campus Pastors Brian Hopper and Craig Fadel reflect on the incredible ways God moved at all three of Bay Area’s locations on Easter Sunday.

We appreciate your comments and questions. Please email us at feedback@bayareacc.org and a staff member or elder will respond within 48 hours.

MAGAZINE CREDITS Gathering Times: 7:50, 9:20, 11:20 a.m.

EDITOR Meredith Thompson ART DIRECTOR Josh Shirlen ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Arianne Teeple ASSISTANT EDITOR Jocelyn Sacks LEAD DESIGNER Josh Burgin GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jake Williams CONTRIBUTORS Alex Williams Brent Squires Brian Hopper Casely Essamuah Craig Fadel Michele Rollins

On the cover: Marcus Wiles, Destiny Ocasio, Angelica David Photo by: Josh Shirlen

ELDERS Barry Willhite Bill Plenge Bill Smith Chris Heacock David McPeak Don Wiley Greg St. Cyr J. Upton John Taylor Keith Riniker Ken Gilmore Peter Godfrey Rich Heath Roger Ishii Tim Grossman Tom Hogan Warwick Fairfax

884 Chesterfield Rd. Annapolis, MD 21401

410.544.2222

BAY AREA LEADERSHIP Brent Squires, Student Ministry Pastor – brent.squires@bayareacc.org Brian Hopper, Annapolis Campus Pastor – brian.hopper@bayareacc.org Casely Essamuah, Global Missions Pastor – casely.essamuah@bayareacc.org Craig Fadel, Easton Campus Pastor – craig.fadel@bayareacc.org Ed Kelley, Executive Pastor – ed.kelley@bayareacc.org Gail Wiles, Children’s Ministry & Weekend Experience Director – gail.wiles@bayareacc.org Greg St. Cyr, Lead Pastor – greg.stcyr@bayareacc.org Janet Graves, Women’s Ministry Director – janet.graves@bayareacc.org Jerry Shirlen, Financial Administrator – jerry.shirlen@bayareacc.org Jocelyn Sacks, Missional Community Director – jocelyn.sacks@bayareacc.org Jonathan Madrid, Worship Leader – jonathan.madrid@bayareacc.org Josh Shirlen, arts – josh.shirlen@bayareacc.org Leanne Lane, Care Network Director – leanne.lane@bayareacc.org Meredith Thompson, Communications Director – meredith.thompson@bayareacc.org Pat Linnell, Teaching Pastor – pat.linnell@bayareacc.org Ron Dutton, Operations Director – ron.dutton@bayareacc.org

For a comprehensive list of all BACC staff, elders and deacons, please visit bayareacc.org/leadership M AY GO&MAKE 3

LETTER FROM THE LEAD

UNRIVALED: The Back Story

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If you’ve been here of late, you know we are on a journey – a journey to elevate Jesus. That’s what Unrivaled is all about. Jesus has no equals. He is incomparable. Unrivaled reflects the vision God has given Bay Area Community Church to focus on Christ’s preeminence and take new ground for the Kingdom of God. It’s a 24-month generosity initiative asking all of us to take the next step of faith, surrender and generosity in order to help reach the world for Christ.

In reflecting on the Unrivaled initiative, I thought you might be interested in some of the backstory. How did all this come about?

Actually, it’s the combination of many things.

First, it flows from our desire to help all of us grow in spiritual maturity. One of the things that keeps us from absolute surrender and great faith is the struggle over finances. When someone surrenders this area, they take huge ground spiritually. Giving opens COMMITMENT TO DISCIPLE the floodgates of God’s blessing in all areas of THE CONGREGATION, life (Matt. 6:24).

REACH MORE PEOPLE

Second is our passion to see men and women, FOR CHRIST, INCREASE boys and girls reached for Jesus from here PARTICIPATION IN GIVING, to the nations. Our heart for the 470,000 AND SIMPLIFY OUR unreached people in Anne Arundel and APPROACH THROUGH A Talbot counties and our burden for the 3 billion SINGLE FUND people who have not had the opportunity to say yes to Jesus drive us with a sense of urgency. We believe God would have us expand His ministry and release more resources.

Next is our longing for 100 percent engagement in financially supporting God’s work at Bay Area. In America, surveys show that between 35-40 percent of regular church attenders give nothing. This is a burden for us.

Honestly, it’s not what we want from you, but we want for you. Our heart is that everyone would experience the joy, blessing and grace of giving. For example, when we launched The Descendants Project in the fall of 2016, I honestly thought that the vision to reach the next generation was so compelling that almost everyone would participate. At is turned out, fewer than 600 household gave. Thankfully through the faithful giving of those

families, the Lord raised over $2.6 million. Yet we long for our entire church family to experience the joy and blessing of giving.

Finally, we realize that many people are struggling with fatigue because of the number of times we bring giving opportunities before the church. Whether The Descendants Project, 125 parking spaces, or an end-ofyear giving challenge, it can become confusing for the church family to know what to give to and how to plan their giving. Unrivaled is much simpler. It’s one fund.

All of your giving goes into a single fund to resource one mission. Your gift will fund our ongoing ministries, continue our investment in students and children through the construction begun under The Descendants Project, and expand our reach locally, globally and through new campuses and more pastoral residents.

That’s the backstory: our commitment to disciple the congregation, reach more people for Christ, increase participation in giving, and simplify our approach through a single fund. This is what led the elders to seek the Lord about our Unrivaled initiative.

For all those who stepped out in faith and turned in a commitment card on May 6, THANK YOU for being a part of Unrivaled! He is worthy! God is going to use your giving mightily.

For those who haven’t turned in a commitment card, you can do so online at baccunrivaled.org/commitment, drop a commitment card in the offering basket, or mail one to the office.

What a privilege to embrace God’s grand vision for us as a church – a vision for the preeminence of Jesus and a people full of surrender, faith and generosity.

From here to the nations,

Greg St. Cyr Lead Pastor Greg St. Cyr is the lead pastor at Bay Area Community Church and a monthly contributor to GO&MAKE.

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by Pat Linnell

A few years ago, a family I had never met before came into the church office to meet in the wake of recent tragedy. A mother and siblings of a 16-year-old boy who had died after falling out of a moving car were still in shock and tears as they reeled to find stable ground. They didn’t seem to have any church background, or much familiarity with Jesus.

In trying to console and steady the family, after listening and giving them space to be heard, I brought up Christmas. Church person or not, Americans know at least casually about Christmas. Sure, to the average person this holiday brings to mind Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, Red-Ryder BB guns, Bing Crosby and a host of other seasonal characters. But this is also a starting point to answer two of the questions that family would be wrestling with in the hard days ahead: God are you even there?

And God do you even care? Both are answered in the birth of Jesus, and the positive answer to both are unexpected gifts to receive and cherish.

You may be familiar with this biblical narrative. The Old Testament ends with God’s people the Israelites exiled, scattered and slowly trickling back to parts of 6 GO&MAKE M AY

Just as God sent Jesus, Jesus sends us and this involves incarnation – getting in it with other people. Putting yourself in others’ shoes speaking their language, and eating their food are all ways that we can begin to relate to and show care for people.

near in the flesh so that we could do that very thing.

The incarnation is a grace bomb for us because we can see with crystal clarity the closeness of God, His desire to dwell among us, and His ability to meet us in the mess of life, warts and all, because He’s been here and lived that.

the homeland. Then we see an extended period of silence as no new prophetic voice would give hope to God’s people for some 400 years – they could only cling to promises that one day the promised Messiah would come.

Then according to the New Testament Gospel accounts, the silence is broken – a new prophetic voice is heard in the wilderness, that of John the Baptist, who was preparing the way for the Savior. The birth account of John the Baptist is how the Christmas story begins. Shortly after he is naturally conceived, which was miraculous in nature since his mom Elizabeth was barren, Jesus is conceived in a supernatural manner, more clearly miraculous.

Jesus’ mom Mary was a virgin, and stayed a virgin through conception and the birth of Jesus. This was clearly shocking news to Mary delivered by an angel, but her posture toward this we’d do well to imitate. She received Jesus as a gift, and cherished this good news in her heart.

What does this have to do with the family in my office? The birth of Jesus was more than the birth of a hero who came to save the day. The birth of Jesus was the incarnation of God, God drawing physically near to His creation. It was God showing up on earth and declaring – Yes, I am here.

For this family it would be important to know that God did not stay far off, distant and disconnected from the pain and trials of life. God did not start life and then just let it ride while chilling out on a heavenly La-Z-Boy while we are on earth figuring things out.

This is what John explains in the beginning of his Gospel, that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. What he is saying in his introductory words about Jesus, is that Jesus did not begin to exist on the first Christmas day in Bethlehem. Rather, the Son of God, metaphorically referred to as the “Word” of God, was with God from eternity past, has always existed, and literally took on flesh to become a human being at Christmas. Theologically speaking, at Christmas the second member of the Trinitarian Godhead took on a body, put on flesh, came in “carne” – in “meat.”

In other words, Jesus got in it with us. He got into life as a human being that first Christmas then grew up to walk a mile in our shoes, speak our language, and eat our food. He is able to sympathize with us when we lose a 16 year-old son because He too has suddenly lost loved ones.

He knows what it feels like to be betrayed, to be abandoned, to be mocked and bullied, to be misunderstood, to be falsely accused, to be heartbroken, to be lonely, to wrestle with hard decisions. Jesus has even been tempted in all the ways we are today, yet without giving into those temptations, which would be sin. Jesus, though God, was also fully human – fully equipped with emotions, pain receptors, and taste buds.

On the flip side He’s lived life to the full: making great friends, accomplishing His calling, obeying God the Father, demonstrating the highest kind of love, and leaving an example for all who want to succeed at life. To get to know Jesus is to get to know God, and He drew

As we receive the gift of a God who can relate to all of our ups and downs, we get closer to being able to do that for others also. Just as God sent Jesus, Jesus sends us and this involves incarnation – getting in it with other people. Putting yourself in others’ shoes, speaking their language, and eating their food are all ways that we can begin to relate to and show care for people.

Incarnation inserts yourself in someone else’s life, even for a brief moment in time.

At the very least, incarnation involves being aware that neighbor exists and being willing to show up in their lives, a way of saying “ I am here, and I see you.”

Listen to what this mom took time to write in on gracebomb.org: “Our kids are loving this movement, we’re teaching them to be finders. Find someone who is working hard, or maybe someone who looks down on their luck and surprise them with a gift of love.” Then she goes on to share a grace bomb story. But notice her emphasis on finding. Finding requires proximity, intentionality and desire. Jesus intentionally drew near in proximity to us so that we’d grow in our desire to do the same for others.

In a similar fashion, a man named Will was present enough to notice when a co-worker needed support; he explained simply: “I filled in for someone at work on my day off after church. I gave my boss the grace bomb card and explained what it meant. He thought it was pretty cool.” Filling in for someone. Here, even for a day, Will was close enough to the action that he opened himself up to opportunities that allowed him to give the gift of time, in this case walking a day in his co-worker’s shoes.

When we take the steps of faith to find someone or fill in for someone, those are ways of saying, “I am here and I care.” When we live like this we mimic Jesus who saw us in our need, took our place when in mattered the most, and sets us free to go and do the same. Families like the one sitting in my office are all around you – when you see them, get in it with them, and flesh out the hope that is in you.

Pat Linnell is the teaching pastor at Bay Area Community Church and a monthly contributer to GO&MAKE.

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t any given time, we live in transition. My son is making the tough decision on where to go to college. I know a friend who is prayerfully considering whether to move out of Maryland to take a new job in a different state. Several friends are facing health issues, some potentially life-threatening. A colleague is making decisions for his aging parents about their wellbeing and their future home.

At any given time, we are in transition, and the decisions that we make have consequences that are sometimes unpredictable and unforeseen. All of us dislike the uncertainty that comes with life.

I am undergoing my own transition as well, moving from fulltime employment as Bay Area’s Global Missions Pastor to serving as Secretary, Global Christian Form, effective July 1, 2018. I move from the certainty of a salaried position to one where I need to raise support; I am moving from working with a wonderful team at base to working with an equally wonderful team, but one that is scattered all over the world; I am moving from 25 percent international travel to a possible 50-percent schedule in the coming year; and I am moving from a church family that I know, to a new virtual workplace where I need to learn the names and titles of literally thousands of people all over the world who are part of the Global Christian Forum family.

And so when Greg asked me last time, “Casely how are you doing?” I felt I owed him the truth, and said, “I am excited about the new service opportunity, and equally terrified because of all the uncertainties.” And that is what brightened Greg’s eyes. He enthusiastically and immediately opened to April 29, reading from the devotional “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers:

Thirteen years ago, my family and I faced the uncertainty of joining Bay Area, not only with me as staff serving as the Global Missions Pastor, but also with my family making Bay Area our church home.

We came from Park Street Church in Boston, a church family where we felt dearly loved. To confess, I was apprehensive how my family and I would fit into this church, described as “riding a wave of God’s grace.”

In fact, I told people that I felt like a trapeze dancer leaving one rope whilst airborne and not sure – certain – of whether I will be able to hold on to the next rope.

Looking back, I’m filled with thanks to God for the love shown us, and the opportunity to serve. My fears, though natural, were totally unfounded.

As I look back, I give thanks for the significant growth in our missions program, for the more funds directed to projects around the world. I give thanks to God for all the hundreds of people who have served in short term missions, and the possibly thousands of lives that have been touched as a result of their service. I give thanks to God for the deepening relationships Bay Area has with global partners around the world, and the frequent visits to them and to us. I give thanks to God for buildings erected by the generosity of Bay Area, as well as work trucks, computers, school uniform and other supplies donated by Bay Area over the years.

For those living with and impacted by HIV/AIDS that Bay Area supports, I’m eternally grateful to have been associated with them. My own faith has deepened, and my family has experienced great spiritual growth. I give thanks to God that through UNRIVALED even more resources will be sent for significant next-level projects for our global partners.

“Our natural inclination is to be so precise – trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next – that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is NOT the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty.”

And so, as I start the next chapter, even though I am uncertain of the future, my certainty is in God, or as Oswald Chambers said, “We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of what He is going to do next.”

My prayer is that whatever transition you are going through, you will experience the assurance that as precious children of God, we live with gracious uncertainty.

That immediately caught my attention, piqued my interest, and I was sitting on the edge of my seat to hear more:

One of my favorite sayings is this: for all that’s past, we say thank you Jesus! For all that’s to come, we say a resounding YES!

“Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life - gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring.”

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by Casely Essamuah

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residency update

“Leadership comes down to intimate time in the Word and committed time praying and spending time with Jesus.”

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ay Area’s residency program, designed to equip and train pastors and missionaries for full-time ministry, currently has five participants, including Trevin Hoekzema.

Prior to joining the residency, Trevin served on staff at Bay Area from 2012-2017, most recently as Local Outreach Coordinator. For over 10 years, he’s had a passion for global missions; Trevin has been on or led more than a dozen short term missions trips around the world. With a heart for seeing the nations reached with the gospel, he joined the residency in September 2017 with the hope of one day becoming a missions pastor. Here’s what he has to say about his experience so far:

BEFORE WE TALK ABOUT MISSIONS, RECAP FOR US HOW YOU CAME TO FAITH. I grew up in a Christian home, going to Grace Community Church. I went to a private elementary school where I got a great foundation of Bible stories and a generic understanding of the gospel. Middle school is when I started to see a different side of the world that looked more fun, didn’t include Jesus and wasn’t obedient to Him. By the time high school hit, I had done a really good job of having my Christian church life and my not-so-Christian school life and kept them separated. My junior year, I was signed up to go on my class missions trip with the church; they also had trips for future leaders and they invited me to do that. So in one summer, I was going to go on two missions trips and I thought, “Look at me, I’m living two lives and doing it successfully.” But the Holy Spirit smacked me around at a retreat and I fell on my knees because I felt the Lord saying, “You’re not going to go to the world to share my name if you’re not actually living for me, so make a decision.” That was when I finally legitimately committed my life to Christ.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PASSION FOR MISSIONS. After making that commitment my junior year, I went to Liverpool,

England, to serve with Youth With A Mission. There was a moment where we went to a Korean church, and we were singing “How Great is Our God.” The students were singing in Korean, I was singing in English, and I just had this picture – this is what Heaven is going to be like, we’re going to have multiple backgrounds and cultures, people expressing their faith in Jesus, and I want to be a part of seeing God’s Kingdom come to fruition here on earth, to see all people groups, all cultures come and worship Him. I started understanding the need for missionaries to reach unreached people groups. When Jesus is saying, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” He’s talking about those people. Going into my senior year of high school, I was sold out.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CALLING TO TRANSITION OFF STAFF AT BAY AREA TO JOIN THE RESIDENCY PROGRAM. Since that first missions trip, I’ve made intentional decisions that would prepare me for overseas ministry. I went to the University of Maryland and pursued a degree that I thought would get me a job working overseas. When I graduated, my mentor knew Casely Essamuah, who was looking for an assistant. I interviewed and said, “I would love this job but I’ll only be here for a year. My girlfriend

and I are engaged, and once we get married we’re going to move to Ghana because we have an opportunity there.” He asked if I would give him a year and a half, and five years later I was still on staff at Bay Area.

In 2015 Casely asked me to lead a trip to Southeast Asia, and I reluctantly said yes because when Casely asks you to do something, you just do it.

Five of us went on a trip to Southeast Asia, and I came back with my heart absolutely broken for Muslims. The next year, my wife and I led a team together and came back believing God was calling us to move to SE Asia. There were clear bi-vocational opportunities, so we went back in 2016 for a month and served with the missionaries there. When we came back, we realized the opportunity was great for me, but not for my wife because she didn’t have teaching experience. It was a hard decision to make because I had spent the last 10 years, so I thought, leading up to this moment.

As I processed, I asked, “If now is not the time to move overseas what does it look like to stay here but still be committed to this passion and calling of seeing the local church take the gospel to the unreached?”

Well, that would be a missions pastor – all over the world, they are in charge of inspiring, equipping and taking the local church to the unreached.

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WHAT DOES THE RESIDENCY LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? The residency is designed for people who are aspiring to full-time ministry but are lacking some of the biblical knowledge, character development, skills or experience.

It’s two parts: there’s the Bay Area-prescribed coursework. On average, we read a book a month, and we have to outline and orally present from memory a book of the Bible each month. We have a paper a week that we write about a theological topic. The other half, for me at least, is seminary – I’m in a masters of arts in global leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary.

WHAT HAS GOD BEEN TEACHING YOU ABOUT YOURSELF THROUGH THE RESIDENCY? The biggest thing that I have learned in the past six months is how much I lack self-discipline, and how much I am motivated by the approval of others. With a study that’s a lot of times alone – we meet every week to discuss – but throughout the week nobody’s looking over my back to tell me to finish my homework. No one is saying, “Good job, you read another page,” although my wife does tell me she’s proud of me all the time, which is helpful. So I’ve learned that I really need to find my

identity in being a child of God and simply that.

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN LEARNING ABOUT LEADERSHIP? I just read a book on discernment, and I was really excited because I thought, “Sweet, I’ll get a three-step plan for how to discern the moving of the spirit and the will of God and to lead people in that.” Although there were some very clear steps and plans, the bottom line was to pray and read your Bible. Leadership comes down to intimate time in the Word and a committed time praying and spending time with Jesus.

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN LEARNING ABOUT GLOBAL MISSIONS? The more I share the gospel crossculturally, the more I need to understand the culture that I’m interacting with to be able to shed light on the part of the gospel that’s going to most impact them and speak to their life.

WHAT HAS GOD BEEN TEACHING YOU ABOUT HIS HEART FOR THE NATIONS?

maturing followers of Jesus from here to the nations. God’s heart is in that – God wants all people to proclaim His name. I’m motivated

by God’s heart, which is to see all people, all forms of worship, all forms of culture fulfill what God made them to be, which is His children, His servants, people who worship Him.

WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE IN THE RESIDENCY? WHAT DO THE NEXT 18 MONTHS LOOK LIKE? There was a portion of my life where I would try to plan out my future, and I’ve stopped planning and just try to predict where God is leading and go on that path. Over the next 18 months, I will continue to learn a lot and pursue ordination. I’ll finish my degree two years from now.

In a year, year and a half, I’ll start applying for jobs to be a missions pastor. My wife and I are super open-handed with this. If God leads us overseas in the next year and a half, cool. If God leads us to a church in Maryland, cool. If God leads us to a different part of the country, cool.

It’s part of Bay Area’s missions statement – making passionate,

“The students were singing in Korean, I was singing in English, and I just had this picture – this is what Heaven is going to be like.”

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We would love to have you pick at least three Sundays this summer to serve in any of our Children’s Ministry environments: Tidal Pool • birth - age 2 Coral Reef • ages 3-5 Submarine Canyon • kindergarten - fifth-grade sign up online at bayareacc.org/summerserve M AY GO&MAKE 13

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BAY AREA STEPS ON THE FIELD FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH

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“You know what we get to do today guys?

We get to play softball.”

I kept saying this to the team as we warmed up and stretched before our first game. As I was sitting on the bench during the first inning, I could not help but think, “What an awesome opportunity this is.” I watched our team, a group of people who barely knew each other, all run out onto the field sharing the same vision and heart, not just for the game but for people.

As a church, we have a heart for the lost, for the nations, and for our communities. Our Community Outreach team’s mission is to reach the lost and intersect with the secular community within Anne Arundel County and be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Our recent efforts have included a pop-up Tattoo Parlor at Nitro Circus and Navy tailgates; most recently, we formed a Bay Area Softball team that competes in the Anne Arundel County coed Softball League. Nathan Bruins, a Bay Area attendee, came to me and the Community Outreach team in late winter with the idea to start a team – and eagerness to coach it! We thought it was a fantastic idea.

Nathan and the Community Outreach team are looking forward to building relationships with people in our community and familiarizing people with Bay Area in a public setting. We want to be set apart as a team in how we conduct ourselves on and off the field, as children of light.

As I was talking recently to one of our team players, Maddy, she said, “I am really looking forward to connecting with people, not just people from Bay Area but meeting new people I may never have met. I am excited to tailgate after the games and do something most churches are not doing.”

As a team, we plan on taking tailgating to another level with great food, games, music and laughs – all in hopes to spark conversation and build relationships with not only each other but also people from the other teams. We are all 16 GO&MAKE M AY

showing up and putting our best foot forward, trusting God will do a mighty work.

Josh Shirlen, who oversees Community Outreach, often encourages me and says, “I know someone’s life is going to be changed forever because of your team’s efforts today.”

Ultimately, that is our hope, that God would move and use our very diverse, misfit team that includes Cas, who just moved to the area a year ago from New York City; Destiny and Joe, who moved here a year ago from San Antonio; and a handful of college grads, newlyweds, singles, nurses, a graphic designer and teachers who have been brought together for this season.

After sitting out the first inning, even though I am known to be the Manny Machado of our team, coach put me in and I was able to get in the game and play right field. Team morale was up, we were getting into a rhythm, and we all started to see our strengths come out. We walked away losing, but we knew that we gave it our best shot.

Some of us laughed and said, “We actually did a lot better than expected.” We all brushed it off knowing that it is not all about winning, that we had a bigger and better goal in mind. Coach Nathan suggested we have some more practice so we can build unity and sharpen our softball skills, which we all agreed would be super helpful. We can’t wait for the next game!

If you would like to participate in community outreach at Bay Area, email alex.williams@bayareacc.org.

STARTING

JUNE 3 - AUGUST 26 11:20 AM SUNDAYS IN THE CHAPEL

Middle & High School students only.

For details on BASM summer events and activities, check out www.bayareacc.org/students.

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love a nice set of flannel pajamas. Cozy and comfortable, they’re made for curling up by the fire with a good book and a hot cup of coffee. Wrapped up in the warmth of that moment, I can let the whole day pass by without a care in the world. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?

As we read the Scriptures, it seems like we find stories of contending for the faith rather than cozy comfort. Yet if you’re anything like me, it’s easy to fall into a routine that is more focused on flannel than faith. Go to church, go to work, spend time with family, take in an Orioles’ game. None of these are bad things, but what if there was something more for us beyond our comfort zone?

This idea of going beyond your comfort zone is one reason that we encourage our family at Bay Area to go on a short term missions trip and one reason Greg calls short term missions a “greenhouse for discipleship.” As you serve with people you don’t know in an unfamiliar culture away from your home, possibly hearing an unfamiliar language, you will find yourself out of your comfort zone. In that place, you and your team will learn new ways and depths of reliance on God, and you will return from your time away from home richer having experienced a little discomfort.

That’s not to say that the adventure of following Jesus is devoid of comfort – it just may not look like you expect that it will. A few years ago, my friend Ashleigh traveled to Africa with a Bay Area short term missions team, and as she took her step of faith to travel to a new place and

share her faith, she prayed for comfort.

Imagine her surprise when she got off the plane in Ghana and met Ms. Comfort Woode, who serves with Bay Area’s global partner organization, Scripture Union! In a unique and unexpected way, God answered her prayer for comfort in the midst of a faith-growing experience on a short term missions team. How will He meet you as you rely on Him more fully outside of your comfort zone?

The more time that I spend with Jesus, the more I’m convinced that I’m not meant to let days, weeks and months pass by in relative comfort, unaffected by my neighbors (whether here or half a world away) who don’t yet know Him. Faith in Jesus means that sometimes, I’m going to be uncomfortable for the sake of the gospel. It means that sometimes, I should even seek out the uncomfortable so that I may grow to look more like Jesus. Faith in Jesus is not flannel pajamas; more often it is a towel wrapped around your waist, serving those who least deserve it because that is what Jesus did for you.

How is Jesus calling you into the uncomfortable in this season of your life? Maybe it is sharing the gospel with a neighbor, serving in Student Ministry, or joining a short term missions team to take the gospel of Jesus to people from another culture. Whatever it is, my prayer is that each of us would say “yes” to Jesus and the adventure of becoming more and more like Him – exchanging flannel pajamas for faith adventures.

To learn more about Bay Area’s 2018 short term missions teams, visit bayareacc.org/stm.

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ONE CHURCH, THREE LOCATIONS

BY BRENT SQUIRES, CRAIG FADEL & BRIAN HOPPER Though Easter 2018 is behind us, we’re still celebrating the incredible ways God moved at Bay Area on April 1. For the first time, we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection as one church family at three locations - our Annapolis and Easton campuses, and an additional site at Broadneck High School. Nearly 5,000 attended! It was a momentous morning and God was at work in the hearts of many across all three locations. Below, Campus Pastors Craig Fadel and Brian Hopper celebrate what happened in Easton and Annapolis, and Student Ministry Pastor Brent Squires, who led the team that organized Easter at Broadneck, shares about what happened on the Broadneck Peninsula.

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BROADNECK Easter at our Broadneck High School site was amazing! The idea for this location actually started before Christmas. Our leaders wanted to expand our impact within the community and create capacity at our Annapolis campus for the hundreds of guests that we knew would visit during this incredible holiday. A team of staff was assembled and met weekly from January through March in order to handle all of the logistics.

brent help unload equipment and supplies, and set up the stage and baptistery.

In total, roughly 1,400 people attended the two gatherings held at 9 and 11 a.m. Many of those in attendance were from the Broadneck Peninsula – and enjoyed a quick commute and found plenty of parking!

Our desire was to provide every person who drove onto the Jonathan Madrid led worship and Pat Linnell wrapped up Broadneck site with the same great worship experience they our Evidence series with a powerful message and invitation would find at our Annapolis campus. for people to accept Jesus as their Savior. We’re praising God that 12 people came to faith! Additionally, 16 people publicly As we asked our church family to step up and serve on Easter declared their faith in Jesus by being baptized in the courtyard across all our locations, we were excited and grateful to have following the gatherings.

130 people step forward to serve at Broadneck in various capacities including set-up/tear-down, ushers, greeters, It was truly an amazing Easter Sunday at Broadneck High Children’s Ministry and hospitality. Our team was encouraged School, and we look forward to seeing how God continues to by the enthusiasm and ownership they brought with them on lead Bay Area as a result.

Easter: Many of the volunteers arrived as early as 5 a.m. to

EASTON

craig

God has been working at the Easton Campus! Having just celebrated our second birthday, Easter Sunday had a lot of anticipation. This year we were offering three gatherings, which was a feat in and of itself. We needed an earlier setup time, more volunteers, and bigger commitments – all while trying to make Easter special for both the most committed and the first-time guest.

Many prayers were answered that day. Though we had passed out hundreds of invitations, the choice for someone to actually come is theirs. We were trusting God and asking Him to work in all our hearts and lives – whether it was for the simple hope that a family member might attend, that a friend would take a small step of faith, or that radical healing and change would occur.

After the service, a mom with tear-filled eyes shared the joy of seeing her daughter singing along with our worship songs. Her The atmosphere was upbeat, worship was sweet, the evidence daughter does not normally attend, and yet was truly engaged was compelling, and hundreds of lives were positively impacted! in everything that was happening. “I was trying not to stare at Our volunteers from Children’s Ministry to technology were all my daughter, but I couldn’t believe it,” she exclaimed. stars, our teams looked like professionals, and our people were warm and welcoming. When all was said and done, we had 443 God’s resurrection power was on full display at the Easton people attend on Easter Sunday. There were nine who came Campus this Easter! We praise Him for His ability to work in forward to trust Christ or recommit their lives to Him, and five and through us as a church. were baptized!

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ANNAPOLIS

brian

What an Easter celebration we had at our Annapolis Campus! women directing traffic, it was an excellent display of Christ’s Here are a couple highlights… love working through our volunteers to serve our body.

The 6:20 a.m. sunrise gathering was amazing. What a beautiful picture of the resurrection with over 300 of us walking into the chapel from the early morning darkness and leaving in the brightness of the risen sun (Son). The worship was celebratory, the preaching was strong, and the Lord was glorified. It was a great way to start such an impactful day.

Another highlight was the sheer number of people who gave up some of their Easter Sunday to serve our church family and guests. On big days like Easter where we have so many additional folks joining us, the volunteer needs swell - and this year our body rose to the occasion to step up and serve.

From Children’s Ministry to the ushers/greeters, to the men and 22 GO&MAKE M AY

And lastly, and most importantly, we witnessed 24 people surrender their lives to Jesus and decide to follow Him. The significance of this cannot be overstated - on the day that we celebrate Jesus defeating physical death and rising to new life, so we witnessed men, women and children come forward to accept the new life that Jesus offers. And then to have the morning capped off with 11 people getting baptized was almost too much.

Like so many years in the past, Easter was again one of the highlights of our year and further evidence that Jesus is with us, leading us, and drawing people to Himself through us. For that, we are humbled and thankful.

WE’VE REACHED THE POINT IN OUR GROWTH WHERE THE TIME IS RIGHT TO TRANSITION ANNAPOLIS TO A CAMPUS

One of the things that I’m especially thankful for is our staff. I wish I had time to introduce each of them to you and share some of the remarkable ways God is using them. I often tell people that “our staff are the real deal.” They love Jesus, love the church, and are deeply gifted and committed to the ministry they help lead.

In 2015, with the launch of our campus in Easton, Bay Area became a multisite church – one church with multiple locations. Today, God is leading us to have a greater impact on the 470,000 people who don’t know Jesus in Anne Arundel and Talbot counties by starting more campuses where people can be exposed to the gospel.

For several months we’ve been studying how to best staff our church for the future. When you look at multisite churches around the country, best practices usually involve transitioning the original “mother” location to be a campus.

For us, that would mean adding a campus pastor for Annapolis who, like Craig Fadel, our Easton campus pastor, would work directly with me. Typically, a multisite church’s leadership team consists of campus pastors and the executive pastor serving alongside the lead pastor, who reports to the elders.

As we pursue starting other campuses, we’ve reached the point in our growth where the time is right to transition Annapolis to a campus as well. As a result, I will continue to serve as Bay Area’s lead pastor, and Brian Hopper, who has served as our Missional Communities pastor, will now serve as our Annapolis campus pastor.

What this means, practically, is that Brian will now provide leadership for many of our staff and ministry leaders in Annapolis. Brian is a gifted spiritual leader and pastor. We are blessed to have him in this role. He will continue to lead our Missional Communities until we hire another pastor to serve as our Missional Communities pastor. Ed Kelley will continue to serve in his role as executive pastor, focusing his giftedness on providing operational leadership and the growing organizational needs required by expanding to new campuses.

For 31 years, we as a church have been focused on building God’s Kingdom. As the Lord continues to grow Bay Area, we anticipate adding new staff and designing roles to best serve our church.

We know that God is calling us to more, and we want to multiply our mission of making disciples by, among many other things, establishing two to three additional campuses in the next two years.

We’re excited about the trajectory we’re on, and are believing God for great things! Though our locations are growing in number, we’re all one team following Jesus, devoted to serving and ministering to our church family and communities.

Greg St. Cyr is the lead pastor at Bay Area Community Church.

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CARE NETWORK

HAPPENINGS OUR MISSION Making passionate, maturing followers of Jesus from here to the nations

OUR VISION There are five things we desire for every follower of Jesus who calls Bay Area home to do:

CONNECT IN COMMUNITY SERVE LIKE JESUS GO ON A MISSION TRIP SHARE THE GOSPEL WORSHIP TOGETHER

YOUR FIRST STEP New to Bay Area or want to get involved? Join us at First Step, a fun, one-hour gathering where you’ll learn about who we are, what we believe, and what your next steps are to get plugged into community and serving at Bay Area. Coffee, snacks and KidCare are provided. Take your first step at Bay Area by signing up today to attend one of the gatherings: Sunday, July 8 at 9:20 a.m., Sunday, July 8 at 11:20 a.m., or Tuesday, July 10 at 7 p.m. in the Bay Café classroom.

Register: bayareacc.org/firststep For those who have already completed First Step, our next Second Step gathering is Sunday, June 3 from 12:30-4 p.m. Register: bayareacc.org/ membership

BAPTISM WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BAPTIZED? For more information, contact: K-5th: gail.wiles@bayareacc.org 6-12th: brent.squires@bayareacc.org Adults: kayleigh.vaughn@bayareacc.org 24 GO&MAKE M AY

Sometimes life hands us struggles: loss of a loved one, serious illness, parenting difficulties, divorce, addiction and other challenges. These difficult circumstances can cause us to isolate, yet God never intended that we walk through them alone. The Care Network is a free, confidential, Jesus-centered ministry for those seeking assistance. We provide hope and healing through a variety of resources both inside and outside the walls of Bay Area.

Info: leanne.lane@bayareacc.org

DATE NIGHT OUT Saturday, 6/9, 5-9 p.m.

Take time to have fun and focus on your marriage! Couples are invited to come to the Bay Cafe Classroom first for a short and fun group time then you’ll be dismissed for your date. There will be door prizes but you must be there to win! KidCare is available for $10 per child, ages infant - 10 years old.

Register: bayareacc.org/register Info: leanne.lane@bayareacc.org

REFOCCUS MARRIAGE GROUP Fridays beginning 6/15, 7-9 p.m.

This group is for married couples who want to spend time on their relationship, but would love direction and skill-building assistance. The REFOCCUS inventory is taken independently by each couple to discuss sensitive issues privately. If comfortable, couples are invited to share difficult issues with the group. The course will include an intro and seven sections: Marriage as a Process, Intimacy, Compatibility, Communication, Commitment, Ministry Marriages and Empty Nesters. If you are interested in attending or being a facilitator couple, email leanne.lane@bayareacc.org.

looking for folks who have temporary space in their homes that could be used in order to fulfill this desire.

Info: leanne.lane@bayareacc.org

ENGAGED? We want to partner with you as you establish a strong, Jesus-centered life. Through premarital mentoring you’ll be paired with trained marriage mentors who will equip you with the tools and resources you’ll need to succeed in marriage.

Info: premarital.ministry@ bayareacc.org

MARRIAGE MINISTRY TEAM VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Our Marriage Ministry events team seeks to encourage and equip couples. If you have a passion to help strengthen marriages and have been married for 10+ years, come be a part of this ministry. Learn more at bayareacc.org/marriageministry.

EMPLOYMENT KIDCARE TEAM MEMBERS Our KidCare team has a need for adults who have a heart for kids. We provide KidCare for all ministries and various events year-round. Want to join our team of paid workers? Email KidCare Coordinator Dax at dianna. jeglum@bayareacc.org.

ASSIMILATION COORDINATOR 29 hours per week. The Assimilation Coordinator will oversee and provide leadership to our assimilation pathway which includes First Step and Second Step. Primary responsibilities include overseeing the scheduling, planning, and executing of each First Step week and Second Step.

ASSOCIATE WORSHIP LEADER

The premarital mentoring team is looking for couples to come alongside engaged couples. If you are married 10+ years and have a passion for helping couples start their marriages in a Jesus-honoring way email premarital.ministry@bayareacc.org.

40 hours per week. The role of the Associate Worship Leader is to contribute to building a worship culture at BACC by leading worship at multiple venues, assisting the leadership of a campus, ensuring all worship experiences are executed with excellence, developing leaders and recruiting volunteers.

TEMPORARY HOUSING FOR PREMARITAL COUPLES

STUDENT MINISTRY PROGRAM COORDIATOR

We believe strongly that the best way to honor God before marriage is to remain pure and live separately. We’re

40 hours per week. The Student Ministry Program Coordinator will serve on the Student Ministry Team

PREMARITAL MENTORING

and as a greater part of the BACC staff.

The primary responsibilities will be overseeing all operational aspects of gatherings and events for middle and high school students.

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY LARGE GROUP COORDINATOR 29 hours per week. The large group coordinator will oversee our largegroup weekend experience for preschool- and elementary-age kids.

This energetic person will have a heart for worship and imparting that passion to our children. We are seeking a highcapacity, creative leader who will train up volunteer worship leaders and on-stage actors for our main weekend message, understanding how to engage children through worship with hand motions, acting techniques and skits.

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY ASSISTANT Part-time position; assists with the implementation of our vision and strategy in Children’s Ministry as it pertains to parents, volunteers, potential volunteers and children of our Children’s Ministry environments at Bay Area. This person will work with the Children’s Coordinators to ensure all details are covered for Sunday mornings and other events.

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY INTERN The Children’s Ministry Intern will gain experience in preparing and resourcing all aspects necessary to provide an excellent Children’s Ministry experience for preschool and elementary programs. The intern will also gain hands-on experience with children Sunday mornings and during special events such as Blitz and Dive 45. This internship runs from June 17-August 19.

For more info and to apply: bayareacc.org/employment

WOMEN’S MINISTRY

Purchase your book “The Quest” from amazon.com or lifeway.com.

Info: laurie.gregory@bayareacc.org

Boundaries (Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend) Wednesdays, 6/6-27, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Join us for a four-week study of the Boundaries book. We will learn that by setting appropriate limits, we can improve the quality of our relationships in every area of life: marriage, family, friendships, church and the workplace. Order the expanded and updated Boundaries book online. You will not need the Workbook or Participants Guide.

Info: bettechristian@comcast.net

Fully Surrendered study and workout class Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6/21-8/7, 7-8:30 p.m.

Join us for an in-depth look at God’s calling for us to be a living sacrifice for His glory using Lysa Terkeurst’s “Made to Crave” video and discussion series. We will follow this with a workout each week. All fitness levels and eating styles are welcome.

Cost $25. In addition, please order Made to Crave Participants Guide at christianbook.com.

Info: kaycee.rump@gmail.com Register for these studies at bayareacc.org/annapolis/women.

SPIRITUAL BREATHING WORKSHOP Tuesday, 6/19, 7-8:30 p.m.

As believers sometimes we have a hard time seeing, hearing and believing God. In this workshop, we will do an interactive Spiritual Breathing activity where we will explore and then exhale our hindrances and inhale by connecting with God through praying the Scriptures.

Info: sarahemeehan1@gmail.com

THE WELL

LIFECRAFT: GARDENING Thursday, 5/26, 7:-8:30 p.m.

The Quest (Beth Moore) Wednesdays 5/2-6/6, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Join us for an evening of gardening tips from Master Gardener Erin LeMere. You’ll leave inspired to grow your own garden of any size.

Register bayareacc.org/annapolis/ women

There is no quest without questions.

A question is an invitation to vulnerability, to intimacy. The Quest is a challenge to accept the invitation.

Learn to dig into the Word, respond to the questions of God, and bring your questions before Him. We will track our quest by journaling in this study.

FELLOWSHIP CRUISE TO BERMUDA August 25, 2018 Don’t miss this five-night cruise from

Baltimore to Bermuda on Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas.

Special guest Easton Worship Leader Rachel Pletts will perform a concert for us on the ship. Excursions and other group activities available.

Invite your spouse or make it a girls trip. Learn more at bayareacc.org/ womensevents.

Info: Lynn at lriley1137@comcast.net

WOMEN OF LEGACY (55+) Monday, 5/14, 10:30 a.m. - noon We will use our book “Teach Us to Number Our Days” and discuss the chapter “Stuff.” Do we need to continually seek more “stuff” to be happy?

Info: Cedulie Sanchez at luisandcedulie@gmail.com

QUILTS FOR KIDS Saturday, 5/12, 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. in The Docks Join us as we make quilts for kids together. Bring your sewing machine and we will provide the quilting fabrics. Bring your lunch to eat together.

Info: annapolisqfk@gmail.com

MOMS IN TOUCH PRAYER GROUP Join other Bay Area moms to pray for college-aged children on Wednesday mornings 8:15-9:15 a.m. in the Prayer Room. Contact Karen to confirm the meeting schedule before coming.

Info: karenmakris@comcast.net

LEARNING COMMUNITIES Learning Communities are designed to strengthen your Biblical knowledge, character and/or ministry skills.

SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY: THE BIG ISSUES Sundays, through 6/3, 9:20 a.m. in Dock A This class taught by Executive Pastor Ed Kelley will address some of the standard issues of our time in Systematics: Calvinism versus Arminianism, Once Saved Always Saved, Lordship, Salvation, Covenantalism versus Dispensationalism, the nature of God, the nature of Jesus and the nature of the Spirit. This class is for those who want to think, engage in dialogue, and explore controversial issues in an academic way. Each class will be selfcontained.

Register: bayareacc.org/ learningcommunities M AY GO&MAKE 25

SERVE LIKE JESUS INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT SERVING AT BAY AREA? Below, you’ll see a list of some of our most immediate serving needs. For a complete list of serving opportunities, and to sign up, go to bayareacc.org/serve.

AMBASSADOR TEAM GREETER TEAM AUDIO/VIDEO TEAM CHAIR MINISTRY

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY WAVE RIDERS PLAY GROUP Tuesday, 5/8, and Wednesday, 5/23 Come check out this family play and support group with fun activities, book clubs and socials that offers a space for parents to share knowledge, resources and experiences.

Info: facebook.com/ waveriderplaygroup

DIVE 45 BOWLING Friday, 5/18 7-9 p.m.

PARKING TEAM

Fourth- and fifth-graders are invited to go bowling at Severna Park Lanes.

Space is limited. Pizza and drinks will be provided. Snacks can be purchased at an additional cost. Cost: $15 Register: bayareacc.org/register

PRESCHOOL TEAM

KIDS SUMMER BLITZ

ESPRESSO BAR TEAM CHILDREN’S WELCOME TEAM CHILDREN’S SET DESIGN TEAM

SAFETY TEAM WOMEN’S MINISTRY USHER TEAM

MEN’S FELLOWSHIP MEN’S MORNING BIBLE STUDY Tuesdays, 6-7:30 a.m. in room 236 Info: jlradcliffe@hotmail.com

MEN’S EVENING BIBLE STUDIES Sundays, 6-8 p.m. in room 235 This study is geared toward helping men draw closer to Jesus while discussing and discovering God’s answers for the challenges men face at home, work and in society.

Info: bob.gregory@bayareacc.org

Thursdays, 7-9 p.m. in room 235 Join Bay Area men to spend time in the Word and prayer, for fellowship and discussion, and for discipleship.

Info: sam.logan@gmail.com

MEN’S BREAKFAST

Join us for The Line: God ‘N Grits, a men’s monthly breakfast on Saturday, May 19, from 8-9:30 a.m. in the Auditorium. The Line is an opportunity for men of Bay Area to gather around good food and conversation, and maybe walk out with more than just a full stomach and a few laughs. Register today at bayareacc.org/mensbreakfast.

Info: bob.gregory@bayareacc.org 26 GO&MAKE M AY

Friday, 6/22, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Children who are completing kindergarten through fifth-grade are invited to Kids Summer Blitz, a funfilled event for kids to kick off summer.

Invite all your elementary-age friends for gameshow-style competitions, beach balls, lights, dancing and all the summertime excitement a Friday evening can hold. Cost: $10 Register: bayareacc.org/register

RETIREES ENCORE SERVANTS LUNCHEON Wednesday, 6/6, 12:30-2:30 p.m.

Join us in the auditorium for a luncheon featuring guest speaker Jim Hiskey. Jim is a former elder and a founder of the C.S. Lewis Institute.

Jim has been a golf pro since 1958, a former PGA Tour player and instructor, and founder and senior editor of the Links Letter. He will speak about building a discipleship legacy. Register by June 3.

Register: bayareacc.org/register

COLLEGE MINISTRY YOUNG ADULT MISSIONAL COMMUNITY (AGES 18-25) Tuesdays, 7-9 p.m.

Missional Communities are a great opportunity for people to connect in community where they are loving God, serving others and growing spiritually together.

Info: bryan.mcfarland@bayareacc.org

FINANCIALS Annapolis Campus Operating Budget As of April 25, 2018 New Fiscal Year Began 9/1/17

ANNAPOLIS CAMPUS Fiscal Year Giving Goal

$ 5,185,000

YTD Received YTD Goal YTD Actual vs. Goal

$ 3,500,347 $ 3,481,557 $ 18,790

EASTON CAMPUS Fiscal Year Giving Goal

$

187,000

YTD Received YTD Goal YTD Actual vs. Goal

$ $ $

162,727 122,269 40,458

ANNAPOLIS CAMPUS OUTSTANDING BUILDING DEBT

$3,152,767 (as of 3/31/18) For weekly financial updates, go to bayareacc.org/financials.

Please indicate any designated gifts on the memo line of your check or use the drop-down box online to select your desired giving fund.

How Can I Participate In The Descendants Project?

Envelopes are available at the 3D model in the lobby. Gifts also can be made online at bayareacc.org. Please designate “The Descendatns Project” in the memo of checks. For gifts other than cash, email finance@bayareacc.org.

How Can I Continue To Support Bay Area’s Building Funds?

GIVING METHODS eCheck: Go to bayareacc.org/give to give online through your checking account through a one-time or recurring donation on My Bay Area.

Personal Check: Write “Building Fund” on the memo line and drop it in the offering basket on Sunday or mail the check to Bay Area (884 Chesterfield Road, Annapolis, MD 21401).

Bank Check: Process through your bank’s Bill Pay service online for a bank check to be sent to Bay Area. Be sure to note “Building Fund” on the memo line.

STUDENT MINISTRY AMPLIFY Wednesdays thru 5/31, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Amplify is our mid-week middle and high school gathering where students can grow deeper in their walk with God in a fun environment through group discipleship. Amplify features games, worship, teaching and gender/ grade-specific Community Groups.

Optional dinner at 6 p.m.

Info: lauren.gibeault@bayareacc.org

MIDDLE SCHOOL CLUB678 Friday, 5/11, 7-9 p.m.

Club678 is our monthly middle school hangout night during the school year.

It’s a free, high-energy evening full of activities, games and prizes.

Info: tim.agnolutto@bayareacc.org

MISSIONAL COMMUNITY Being connected with others helps us grow in our love for God, for each other, and for our neighbor. You can find out more about Missional Communities at bayareacc.org/ missionalcommunities.

PRAYER MINISTRY Our Prayer Ministry comprises individuals dedicated to praying for all aspects of Bay Area: gatherings, pastors, missions and more. Individuals are also available to pray after each gathering (front-right of Chapel stage).

Info: bayareacc.org/prayer

BIG BEACH WEEKEND 2018 High school students are invited to join us for one of the region’s finest high school retreats! Big Beach Weekend is scheduled for August 3-6 at Harvey Cedars Bible Conference.

The cost is $325.

Info: tim.agnolutto@bayareacc.org

Take the next step in your walk with Jesus and share God’s love in one of 10 locations worldwide. Fill out the GO Form: bayareacc.org/stm

SEND

Interested in sending others through prayer or giving? Give: bayareacc.org/ stmgive. Prayer info: michele.rollins@ bayareacc.org.

HAPPENINGS

FINANCIAL LEARNING COMMUNITY Sundays, 5/20 - 8/5, 3-5 p.m.

What does it mean to be balanced in the realm of our personal finances? Our attitudes and practices with our finances are a reflection of our relationship with God. So instead of guessing what God says about money, let’s open up the books and take the necessary steps to become balanced. Join us on May 20, June 3, 24, July 8, 22, and August 5.

Info: easton@bayareacc.org

CHURCH PICNIC Sunday, June 10, 1-4 p.m.

GLOBAL MISSIONS GO

EASTON CAMPUS

ANNUAL WALK benefitting local kids in need Thursday, May 10, 6 p.m. register: wtwf.org

Join us for one of our best annual events: a church picnic with inflatables, food, boat rides, games and swimming!

The church will provide chicken and drinks, but we would love it if you would bring something to share as well. If your last name begins with A-R, please bring a side dish such as pasta salads, fruit, veggies, green salads, etc. If your last name begins with S-Z, please bring a dessert such as pies, brownies, cookies, etc. There is limited seating but plenty of space, so please feel free to bring extra chairs and blankets.

every one a missionary bayareacc.org M AY GO&MAKE 27

KIDS

SUMMER

FRIDAY, JUNE 22 6:30-8:30 P.M.

Children who are completing kindergarten through fifth-grade are invited to Kids Summer Blitz, a fun-filled event for kids to kick off summer. Invite all your elementary-age friends for gameshow-style competitions, beach balls, lights, dancing and all the summertime excitement a Friday evening can hold. Cost: $10

BAYAREACC.ORG/REGISTER 28 GO&MAKE M AY