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IN THIS ISSUE 16 COVER STORY: SERVE LIKE JESUS Sam Logan and Barbara Carneiro share their story of serving through sacrifice and welcoming interruptions.
8 BRIAN’S EDITORIAL: THE BUSY SERVANT As we talk about serving like Jesus this month, Missional Communities Pastor Brian Hopper offers several helpful ways to avoid overcommitment and maintain a healthy balance in life.
12 SENT NETWORK UPDATE: PLANTING IN CANTON As he prepares to plant a church in the Baltimore neighborhood of Canton, Adam Muhtaseb shares his compelling testimony of growing up following Islam and losing his relationship with his earthly father when he met his heavenly Father.
Serve Like Jesus: Brian Holian helps disciple kids in Children’s Ministry on a Sunday morning.
22 FROM HERE TO THE NATIONS: EL SALVADOR The first short term mission team of 2017 has returned to U.S. soil, but not unchanged. College student Ben Alford gives an update on how God used the team - and grew them - in San Salvador.
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 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 Andy Smith Ben Alford Sam Logan
On the cover: Sam Logan & Barbara Carneiro Photo by Josh Shirlen
Gathering Times: 8, 9:30, 11:15 a.m.
ELDERS Bill Smith Chris Heacock Don Wiley Greg St. Cyr J. Upton John Taylor Keith Riniker Ken Gilmore Roger Ishii Tim Grossman Tom Dalpini 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, Missional Community 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 Director – gail.wiles@bayareacc.org Greg St. Cyr, Lead Pastor – greg.stcyr@bayareacc.org Janet Graves, Women’s Ministry Director – janet.graves@bayareacc.org Jen Edwards, H.R. Administrator – jen.edwards@bayareacc.org Jerry Shirlen, Financial Administrator – jerry.shirlen@bayareacc.org Jocelyn Sacks, Missional Community Director – jocelyn.sacks@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 Rachel Perry, Connecting Director – rachel.perry@bayareacc.org Ron Dutton, Operations Director – ron.dutton@bayareacc.org Tres Cozad, Technical Director – tres.cozad@bayareacc.org
For a comprehensive list of all BACC staff, elders and deacons, please visit bayareacc.org/leadership
“ Fresh off the trip of helping parents care for newborns, I got a good glimpse of what serving truly is: exhausting! It is selfless, sacrificial and others-centered. But in a healthy family, that’s what you do.”
Dear Bay Area Family, Sacrificial serving. That’s what comes to mind when I think of parenting. Last month Mary Kaye and I welcomed two new grandbabies into our lives. Jack was born in Princeton, New Jersey, on April 4, joining big brother Billy. Lucy arrived two days later in San Diego. Mary Kaye and I divided and conquered to support and celebrate. She headed to San Diego while I was on stand-bye for “Billy duty” when the call came. Exciting times. Fresh off the trip of helping parents care for newborns, I got a good glimpse of what serving truly is: exhausting! It is selfless, sacrificial and others-centered. But in a healthy family, that’s what you do. At Bay Area, we desire to be that kind of family. And healthy families serve each other. Yet, this is still a growth area for us. We embrace the saying “Serve like Jesus,” but I’d say this is more aspirational than actual. So, I’m asking God to change that in the days ahead (in me and in you!). When it comes to serving, Jesus is our model. In John 13, we see Him washing the disciples’ feet. This is remarkable. The Lord who created the dirt on their feet stoops low out of love and humility to wash them. Here’s the truth about love: Love always seeks the highest good of the other person. As to humility: A humble person isn’t too proud to stoop low and serve. That’s Jesus. That’s the kind of lifestyle we are called to follow.
Please note: these resources are released to meet human needs. All around us are needs: relational, emotional, physical, financial. But the greatest need of all is to know God through His Son, Jesus. God is burdened by the needs of humanity and desires to meet them. So, God provides the divine resources. Those resources are what God will use to meet human needs. But how? How is God going to do it? Answer: through loving channels! That would be you and me. God wants to use us to meet the needs of specific individuals. Serving involves a life that is lived for others. And finally, serving is to the glory of God. This is our ultimate purpose in life: to glorify Him. God is glorified when we live in such an intimate, personal relationship with Him that He pours His divine resources in us to meet human needs all around us through our loving hands. That is a life worth living! Whether that is the exhausting ministry of parenting newborns, serving the children or students of Bay Area, parking cars, greeting, leading a Missional Community or women’s study, or a hundred other ways, serving takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God. This, dear ones, is truly serving like Jesus! From here to the nations,
Let me share a favorite definition of serving that I learned years ago from Warren Wiersbe: “Serving takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God.” I love this. Let’s break it down… First, serving involves divine resources. When God calls, He empowers. Our sole responsibility is to abide in Jesus. If we do, He takes sole responsibility to provide the resources needed. When we surrender ourselves to God and step out in faith to do whatever He tells us, we experience the supernatural resources of the Holy Spirit. Serving becomes one adventure after another of being filled with His divine resources.
Greg St. Cyr Lead Pastor
Greg St. Cyr is the Lead Pastor at Bay Area Community Church and a monthly contributer to GO&MAKE.
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ne of my favorite parts of our Easter celebration last month was hearing some of Emily’s story. In her young life, she has endured a lot of suffering and searching, only to find the best “high” in a relationship with Jesus, who “likes her jokes.” Emily was able to articulate both the power and close personal nature of God in a gripping way simply by telling her story and how God broke into her life by His mercy and grace. I’ve spoken with many people about how encouraging her testimony was. In case you missed it, go online to the gathering archive for Easter Sunday. But what you don’t know is that God was at work behind the scenes to get Emily’s story in front of so many people on Easter. This is that story. Several weeks ago, Emily had reached out to me with a desire to be baptized and for me to hear her story. That sounded great so we set a time on a Tuesday afternoon to meet at Bay Area. Tuesday came, and for some reason, I had neglected to put our appointment on my calendar and left the office to move on with another part of my day. Then my phone vibrates with a text from the front office: “Emily is here for your appointment, are you here?” UGH. I totally forgot. I was a solid 20 minutes away. So I called Laurie at the front desk and ask to speak with Emily. The best I could do was to have her drive out to the Severna Park Starbucks, meet her there in about 15 minutes. So she agreed and drove to meet me. Fifteen minutes turned into 30, no Emily. Then I get an email from her that says she ended up going to the wrong coffee shop, and had run out of time to meet. She had a Bible study to attend, so how can you turn that down? It was totally my bad, as I had her running all over Anne Arundel County for my mistake. And we’d have to reschedule for another undetermined time. We were able to reschedule the week of Easter, which is not typically a good week to meet for church people due to a lot of the preparations happening for a busier-than-usual weekend. We met up and I was moved by her story, and thought at some point, probably in the summer, it would be great to share it with others. About 30 minutes later a few staff members met up to discuss the details of Easter Sunday. Greg would be preaching the Easter sermon, so per usual, we were discussing it with him. Then Greg says that it would be great to have a testimony, a story, that speaks to Jesus and the new life He offers. Greg, I thought, do I have a story for you. The rest is Easter 2017 history. Emily’s story was on the top of my mind because we had literally just met. Greg’s request for a story was late in the game with Sunday just a few days away. It is likely that if we had met the first time as planned, the opportunity to share on Easter would have never materialized. Easter Sunday, because it was Easter, added a couple thousand more folks that would hear what God was doing in Emily’s life. It seems like that was all brought about through a missed appointment, a mistake. I believe that God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, and He can take botched plans, missed appointments, and our weakness to show off His strength.
Pat Linnell is the teaching pastor at Bay Area Community Church and a monthly contributer to GO&MAKE.
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The Busy Servant By Brian Hopper Busy people get things done. Ever heard that before? As a young leader, I was always told if you want something done, you find the people who are already busy and ask them. To some extent that is true. People who are typically busy are people who are driven to get things accomplished. But what happens when busy people are too busy? When they’ve been asked to do too much or are overcommitted? This was the position I found myself in several years ago as a growing leader. In 1997, I took a promotion with my company that moved me and my family here to Annapolis where we began to attend Bay Area. My job had me traveling around the country making presentations and meeting with clients. At the time, my daughters were 7 and 5 and were quite active in things like horseback riding, soccer and dancing. Those commitments filled several evenings during the week and most of our time on weekends. We also began to volunteer at church, meet up with others in a discipleship group, and attend a prayer class. We homeschooled our kids (well, my wife homeschooled them) and she had a budding painting/design business that had her working weekends or evenings when I was home. We had family who lived nearby, and we occasionally volunteered in our community. Needless to say, we were busy. Sound familiar? During that season of life, I often felt like I was simply racing from one commitment to the next, just trying to keep it all together. I regularly wondered if I was doing well in any of those things. It seemed like I was always behind. And I can recall wondering if the pace was sustainable or even healthy. Was this just what every ministry leader or volunteer had to do? Though I’m in a different stage of life now, the demands for my time have not slowed down or changed. What has changed, however, is the way I have managed my busy life. Having coached and led ministry teams and leaders for years, I have observed both the good and 8 GO&MAKE M AY
bad for how to manage busy seasons. Here are common mistakes I see busy people make:
1 Busy people often neglect themselves. Busy people think they can do it all, but this is false thinking. In trying to accomplish everything, we can neglect a good diet, good sleep or good exercise, and the most important aspect: our spiritual life! Our personal time gets reduced to a morning devotion. Our prayer time gets reduced to a quick few words of thanks before dinner. Spending time in the Word or prayer does take an investment of time, but they are multipliers, meaning they give you more in return than what you expend doing it.
2 Busy people don’t know how to say no or prioritize responsibilities. This mostly leads to frustration and burnout. In the spirit of accomplishment, I’ve seen busy people say yes more than they say no. And as a result, they lose sight of what they are truly passionate about, gifted in and called to. They dilute their effectiveness because they don’t say no to things that might be good, but not best for them.
3 Busy people don’t know how to rest or refresh. Just think how long it takes some people to adjust to a week’s vacation at the beach or in the mountains! You finally feel rested and then you’re packing up to get back to real life. And in our cultural context, we are constantly reachable by phone, email, internet… the tendency is to never be “off.” We’re running our engines 24/7. If you resonate with anything above, you are likely overcommitted. And if that is the case, my recommendation is that you sort through that and establish some healthy boundaries so that you can remain fruitful for the Lord and healthy with your life/spouse/family. For my wife and family, we came up with some “house rules” to help guide us. These are things we both agreed to abide by and hold each other accountable to.
So, in the spirit of helping you do better and remain fruitful, here are our house rules:
There can only be one crazy person in the house at a time. Throughout those years of raising kids and being ministry leaders, we often found ourselves going in multiple directions at the same time, with conflicts in our schedules and competing demands for our time. So we established an onlyone-crazy-person-at-a-time rule, which meant that only one of us per day could be the overcommitted one. Naturally, this meant that both my wife and I could not pursue all of our ambitions, passions and commitments at the same time, which meant we had to prioritize and yield to one another. To accomplish this, we agreed to hold a family meeting Sunday evenings before we got into our week where we walked through our week together. We shared calendars and where there were overlaps, we negotiated things in advance. Over time, our overcommitted lives began to get a little clearer and simpler, which led to second house rule…
Think Primary and Secondary. Each of us had to choose one primary stewardship and if there was still room maybe a second one. For my kids, this meant we said NO to a lot of things. If they played sports, it was one sport. It was not soccer, and horseback riding, and swimming, and dancing… For me and Suz, it meant that we had to choose what our primary ministry – our primary stewardship – was going to be. We couldn’t afford to be serving, leading, volunteering in three or four things. We had to choose one primary ministry to be fully engaged in and release ourselves from all the other commitments. Another house rule was that
personal care became a priority. For me, I had to stop eating all the junk food while traveling or at home because it was cheap, easy and quick. I also had to adopt some form of exercise that I would commit to doing at least twice a week – something that made me sweat or get my heart rate up (which I did by running).
Most importantly, my wife and I made a pact to get away for an overnight, away from the kids and out of Annapolis, once a quarter. We didn’t always have the money to do it, but we always found a way. On those getaways, we would pray, talk, review our calendars, re-evaluate our priorities, and of course, not talk about all of those things, too.
Lastly, I upped my spiritual game. My pattern was the busier I became the more I shed the things that had the most positive impact in my life. I justified stopping doing those things because I just didn’t have the time. WRONG! I made an adjustment and reversed my pattern. Rather than read less, I increased my reading time in the Word. Rather than pray less, I increased my prayers. By doing these two simple things, I found my heart was better prepared and more consistent when I was facing a quickened pace and stressful time. It sounds counterintuitive, but it was the right thing to do. If you find yourself overcommitted, neglecting yourself, unable to prioritize or say no, and not getting the rest you need, you might want to incorporate some of these house rules. The reality is that we may not be able to completely avoid a busy, overcommitted lifestyle – a lot of it is our culture – but I do believe this is an area in which all of us can and must do better. It takes faith and courage to say no and be disciplined in this area. But I believe the Lord honors those intentions and desires for us to be healthy and give our best to the work He has called us to. I want to challenge you to not be a victim of overcommitting. We each long to be healthy, spirit-filled men and women who are fruitful in the areas in which God has called us to serve and lead. Naturally, it is my hope that each of you invest your heart, passions and skills into making disciples, and that this would not be done out of the margins of life but as a primary focus as a servant of God. As you reflect, have the courage to make changes and have faith in the Lord to provide and give you what you lack.
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F IRST RESP ON DE RS D IN N E R SAT U RDAY, MAY 20 5 P M I N THE AUDI TOR I UM KI D C A RE I S PR OV I DED If you're involved in law enforcement, EMS, fire & rescue, security or the military, you are invited to join us for a free appreciation dinner.
Dinner catered by Mission BBQ Register online at bayareacc.org/firstrespondersdinner 10 GO&MAKE M AY
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ADAM MUHTASEB BY SAM LOGAN 12 GO&MAKE M AY
dam Muhtaseb first encountered faith through Islam. His father immigrated from Jordan in his early 20s, looking for the American dream. His mother was from Maryland. The two were married, but it didn’t last. Soon after marriage, Adam’s father began to take his Muslim faith more seriously, and the strain on the relationship led to a divorce. Adam was 2. His father later married a Muslim woman and eventually had three more kids. Along the way, Adam found himself with a foot in two different worlds. Growing up in Germantown, Maryland, God wasn’t part of the conversation in his mother’s home. He would visit his father on the weekends, in a home where Islam was central. By the time Adam was 7, his father had settled into a rhythm of following the five pillars of Islam and going to a Mosque every Friday.
listen to the Imam preach, skip the teaching to practice his jump shot. About the same time, his mom began to date a man who casually attended church. He brought Adam’s mom, who brought Adam. Children’s ministry was the first place he heard about Jesus. The story of Zacchaeus, who hosted Jesus for a meal that changed the tax collector’s life, touched Adam. He was 10.
“I FEEL LIKE IT WAS THE SPIRIT OF GOD PROTECTING ME TO RECEIVE THE MESSAGE THAT I WOULD ONE DAY HEAR.”
“I wanted to be like my father – what little kid doesn’t,” Adam said, recalling his childhood days practicing Islam. “I decided I wanted to be a Muslim like my father, so I asked him about it. He told me about the five pillars of Islam, and how we earn right standing before God through five actions.”
Adam fasted during Ramadan. He prayed five times a day facing Mecca. He recited the appropriate texts. “It’s crazy. I was watching home videos of myself a couple months ago, watching myself praying, and talking to my dad on the video about reading the Quran,” he said. Adam was fully indoctrinated into Islam, “as much as an 8-year-old kid can be.” He was a typical Muslim kid. But something about it didn’t feel right; he just didn’t accept the message. “I feel like it was the spirit of God protecting me to receive the message that I would one day hear” Adam reflected. So one day Adam decided he was done with Islam. “I became the bad Muslim kid,” he said. He would cuss, and rather than
“I just remember thinking, ‘I am Zaccheus,’” he recalled. The children’s ministry left Adam’s mom with “The Jesus Movie.” Adam and his mother watched it together, and at the end prayed to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, together. Adam fell in love with this person who claimed to be God. He connected and began attending church, engaged with youth ministry. He was a Christian.
His father was livid. “It got to a point, when I was 13, when he said to me, ‘you’re a bad son,’ and he would challenge my faith,” Adam explained. “9/11 had just happened, so he was dealing with a lot of racism. So he left and returned to Jordan. I really feel like my faith in Jesus cost me my dad.” Adam wouldn’t speak to his dad for 10 years. The church became home for him. Adam attended Salisbury University and experienced a breaking point in his faith. He grew distant from the Lord and partied and sought popularity. He had everything he wanted but didn’t feel satisfied. He felt empty. A youth pastor invited him to lunch and then a Bible study, where Adam experienced for the first time authentic teaching from the bible. “We were in 1 John, and it wrecked me,” Adam said. “I felt like I was in a room full of people but alone with the text.” M AY GO&MAKE 13
1 John 2:4 says “Whoever says ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar.” “[I felt like] God [had] just called me a liar. Everything else [needed] to be paused in my life,” Adam said. He was 19 when that revelation hit him. It was 2009. “One day in the summer after my sophomore year in college, I fell on my face in my room and said ‘I’m done, I’m going all in.’”
“[Then we] thought, where can we go that most reflects the Gospel message – a king of glory who forsook His comfort and His peace to enter this broken, messed up world and lived as a servant?” he said. Adam wanted to go where the Gospel was needed. He wanted to reflect Jesus with this life choice. He explained, “We began looking at the numbers in Baltimore, where 9 out of 10 people don’t have a relationship with Jesus.”
Revelation 3:16 resounded in his hears. He didn’t want to be a lukewarm Christian any more.
The city itself has 620,000 people, and the largest church in the city is about 250 people.
He went all in. Adam fasted for 40 days. He sold his phone. He started a Bible study. He did everything the Bible said in response to the Gospel. He and a friend went to Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Calcutta, India, and served the poor for five weeks.
Adam told the elders at Imago Dei that he wanted to plant a church in Baltimore. With their support, he began gathering his team, and from another church planter at Imago Dei, he learned about the SENT Network. After completing his assessment with SENT, Adam joined the network and began working earnestly toward planting a church in Baltimore.
He returned to Salisbury and started a college ministry, called “121” after Philippians 1:21 because that verse had such a strong influence in his life: “for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” A mentor told him that he needed to begin preaching every week. God grew the ministry to 100 people; 12 came to faith, another 20 were baptized. “I had no idea what I was doing … just trying to preach the Bible as best I could,” he admitted. Adam was 21. About that time he began to sync with Paul’s life mission of starting new churches. Reading Acts, he decided to begin preparing himself for that task. The decision eventually led him to seminary at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina, where Adam and his wife, Sherrie, began attending Imago Dei Church in Raleigh. His theology deepened, and was fundamental to his current church planting journey. “[The journey started] with my theology and a strong view that the purpose of my life is to glorify God,” Adam said. Sherrie and Adam wrote down a list of cities. They visited and seriously considered D.C. They thought about LA and dreamed of planting a church in Florida.
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Redemption City Church is about bringing the Gospel to a city that needs redemption. In July, Adam and Sherrie plan on moving to Canton, an up-and-coming neighborhood squeezed between the harbor and Patterson Park. Canton is also less than a mile away from some of the highest crime rates in the city, presenting Adam and his team an opportunity to bring the gospel to two disparate communities. Redemption City Church has begun with a focus on mission. Adam is not thinking about starting a service and gathering a congregation. He’s thinking and praying about mission, about bringing missionaries to Canton to form a team who are singularly focused on bringing the Gospel to this neighborhood. “We’re empowering people to be missionaries in the city with us: equipping and sending them to enter the workplace, enter into whatever they like to do for fun, enter the restaurants they frequent and share the Gospel as they go,” he illustrated. They will eventually organize public worship and preaching, and a weekly service, but for now, they are focused on being missionaries in Baltimore.
So far, there are 10 missionaries meeting in Adam and Sherrie’s home in Raleigh to prepare to move to Baltimore together and bridge the gap between Canton millennials and north-of-Canton black communities. They have raised 65 percent of their funds and are currently praying to complete the fundraising process, but more importantly, they are praying for more missionaries, for wisdom, and for elder-qualified men to join them. Adam is also praying for his father. Ten years after Adam’s father left, he moved back and reached out for a meeting. Adam was 23, only a few weeks before he married Sherrie. The three met in person. “He [roasted] me. ‘You were a horrible son,’ he said. It was so hard … not to just cuss him out. Sherrie was squeezing my knee as he destroyed me,” Adam recalled of the meeting. Adam left that meeting but still invited him to their wedding. “Only because of the Gospel was I able to forgive him. Because I have a dad in Heaven, and because I knew how much I had been forgiven in Christ was
I able to say ‘I’m sorry dad, I want a relationship.’ And we began to talk, to have a conversation every six months… then every three months, then once a month” he shared. Adam’s dad is still a Muslim and now lives in Rockville. But he is one of Adam’s best friends and even listens to and critiques his son’s sermons on speaking and presentation. Recently, when Adam was visiting his father, God showed up. “I was sharing with him the vision of our church, and he just started crying. He said, ‘God is inside of you. I don’t know how, I don’t agree with your message, but God has changed you. There is something in you that is not of man. I had nothing to do with this and you turned out like this, how?’” Adam said, remembering the moment. “And I just said, ‘Jesus.’”
“WE’RE EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO BE MISSIONARIES IN THE CITY WITH US: EQUIPPING AND SENDING THEM TO ENTER THE WORKPLACE, ENTER INTO WHATEVER THEY LIKE TO DO FOR FUN, ENTER THE RESTAURANTS THEY FREQUENT AND SHARE THE GOSPEL AS THEY GO.”
S E RV E
L I K E J E S U S
SAM LOGAN AND BARBARA CARNEIRO SHARE THEIR STORY OF S E R V I N G AT B AY A R E A
BY MEREDITH THOMPSON
ou can interrupt Sam and Barbara any time of day. They’re fine with it. Or, they strive to be. For the Annapolis couple, interruptions often open the door to serve others. Sam explained it’s a posture they’ve come to embrace as they seek to follow Jesus’ example. “If we look at Jesus’ ministry, there are a lot of little moments where it would look like He was interrupted – someone comes up to Him and says, ‘Heal me,’ someone grabs the hem of His cloak – but instead of being annoyed or frustrated, He stops what He’s doing and uses that opportunity to glorify the Father’s name or to further His ministry in some way,” he illustrated. So, over time, Sam and Barbara have been learning to hold their time and agendas loosely, elevating serving others over the relentless demands of work, hobbies and kids’ extracurriculars. Sometimes, that means Sam takes a call from a guy who needs someone to talk to before making a work call, or Barbara prioritizes serving at church over working out. Active members of Bay Area today, the parents of two – soon to be three! – laid low when they first became part of the church family. A friend invited them to bring their kids, Iris and Enzo, to Summer Jam in 2015. Sam and Barbara were encouraged by the straightforward way the gospel was presented that week, and the kiddos
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W E J U S T H AV E TO G E T AWAY F R O M T H E I D E A T H AT W E ’ R E TOO BUSY TO SERVE. SAM LOGAN
were hooked. Considering a transition from their previous church, they came back the next Sunday and have been at Bay Area since then. But they’ll admit they were burned out – they had hosted and led a small group for three years, serving in a startup church where everyone did everything. With little left to pour out, they did what many in our bustling culture struggle to do: rest. “When we got here, we felt at peace with just resting and being taught, coming on Sundays and enjoying the worship, teaching and that our children were in ministry,” Sam shared. They recharged for six months, then were ready to dive back in. They prayed about opportunities to serve at Bay Area, whether through using their existing talents or simply by filling a need. In early 2016, Sam connected with the safety team and began writing for GO&MAKE. Barbara joined the prayer team, and together they decided to open their home to hosting their Missional Community. “The one we kind of accidentally fell into was the Marriage Ministry,” Barbara said with a laugh. “We had no experience in marriage ministry, and [the ad in the] magazine said you had to be married for 10 years or more, and we had been married for 9.5 so we just dismissed it.” But they met with some of the church leaders anyways, and shared about their passion for seeing couples pray together. Paired with a couple who was preparing to lead a Learning Community about marriage, they were able to teach about praying as husband and wife in the LC. After two semesters, it grew into its own LC about prayer. Serving together as LC leaders has been a huge blessing to them. “For many years, we wanted to serve together and knew it was important, but never found a way because our gifts are very different – I could never serve on the safety team,” Barbara said. Sam added, “The opportunities we’ve had to
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facilitate those LCs as a couple has been the high point of serving.” Several months ago, Sam began serving with the Men’s Fellowship, too, helping with the monthly men’s breakfasts and related events. Barbara has been using her gifts and resources to serve with Bay Area’s communications team.
DEMYSTIFYING BUSYNESS Their many layers of service beg the questions how, and why? Living in Annapolis, owning and operating multiple businesses, raising children, how do Sam and Barbara have time to serve like Jesus? In short, they make time for it through sacrifice. “We don’t have as many extracurriculars as other people in the area do,” Barbara said, in contrast to the Annapolitan lifestyle. Noting that their daughter takes piano lessons and both children play soccer at school, she added, “Sports are important and all, but I value other things far more than just driving [the kids] around town. … For me, it’s more important for them to see us serving than for them to just be excellent at a sport.” Having the kids serve alongside them is a priority, too. Pointing back to Jesus’ example, Sam reiterated that Jesus was never too busy to serve the Father. “We just have to get away from the idea that we’re too busy to serve, which is something a lot of people hold onto,” Sam explained. “I think it’s more of a defense mechanism than a reality or a truth, and if you can get around that hurdle, what’s on the other side are tremendous opportunities to deepen your relationship with the Lord, with your brothers and sisters in Christ, and for you to really experience joy – which I would define as being used by the Lord in a moment to bless someone.”
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING Sacrificing exercise, healthy eating and sports – the latter is harder for Sam than it is for Barbara – from time to time still begs the question, why? Why sacrifice self and do what the Lord wants rather than what we want? Barbara explained acknowledging that she has been blessed motivates her to be a blessing to others. “It starts with the idea of not deserving what God has put in my life … not just material things, but our faith, our marriage and our kids,” she said. “All that I have is not mine, and it can be taken away – whatever I have is a gift, and if it’s a gift it’s got to be used.” That’s why they allow interruptions, even though it’s a struggle sometimes – their time is a blessing, too. In their prayer workshops, Sam and Barbara encourage others to make the most of interruptions, sometimes going so far as to create them themselves. “Many people have this idea that my prayer time is from 7-7:15 a.m. or 9-9:30 p.m. and that’s it, the rest [of my day] is for what I need to do,” she said. “During the prayer workshop we create interruptions and text them at random hours of the day to generate disruption, because God is not going to come to you at 7 a.m. and not bug you for the rest of the day.”
WORKING FROM REST More than anything, it is that time with God early in the morning – and throughout the day – that fuels Sam and Barbara to serve. Sam highlighted the ancient Jewish philosophy of working from rest rather than resting from work. In today’s society, most people work hard all day and come home to rest, but Sam suggested the opposite should be true.
“The idea of resting in the Lord first – spending time in the Word, spending time in prayer … and then going to work is something that we’ve been trying to practice,” he explained. “Which practically means making the effort to get up early before the kids.” The days they do that are much more productive for him in his professional life and personal life, and his heart is prepared so that if those interruptions to come, he will respond correctly. Conversely, when they don’t have that time, but get up and race out the door, the days get kind of funky, Sam said. When the interruptions come, he says, “Lord, I’m too busy. I’ve got to make a phone call.” They’re also intentional about resting as a family on Saturdays. The kids wake up excited for Family Day, knowing they’ll get to relax with mom and dad, maybe watch a movie (or three). Sam explained that day of rest is the reason they aren’t drained when they get to church on Sunday. Both Barbara and Sam will be quick to admit they don’t always get it right. They had a humbling moment getting over the question, “Who are we to teach other people how to pray?” Sam struggles to be a follower rather than a leader in some situations, and they don’t always hit a homerun handling interruptions. But they love Jesus, and they love other people, and that’s really what’s required to serve.
BARBARA CARNEIRO
W H AT E V E R I H AV E IS A GIFT, AND IF IT’S A GIFT IT’S GOT TO BE USED.
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BOB GREGORY LEADERSHIP
PROFILE
BY M E R ED I T H THOMPS ON ob Gregory realized for the first time that life was bigger than himself when his daughter Camryn was born. Prior to becoming a dad, Bob didn’t embrace faith. It became moderately important to him when he met his wife, Courtney, but took front seat when he realized he had a responsibility for this new little girl’s faith upbringing. “I wanted to raise Camryn differently than I was raised. Courtney was raised in the church, and I wanted to do the same with Camryn,” Bob recalled. “I didn’t want the responsibility to go [solely] to Courtney – I had to take responsibility as well.” For Christmas, Bob received a book from Courtney that included a chapter about giving your life to Jesus, explaining that if you wait until you’ve cleaned up your life you’ll never get there – God wants you as you are. It meshed with what he had already been pondering, and he gave his life to Christ right then. A few months later, Bob’s sister invited his family to her church – Bay Area. They’ve been coming for well over 10 years. When Camryn was little, Bob got his feet wet with serving by volunteering in Children’s Ministry. After Courtney joined staff, he jumped in with both feet too. “My heart has always been to help the men of the church find community and get plugged in,” he shared, noting he started by facilitating a Learning Community for guys. The demand was there, and the LC grew to be offered year-round, covering topics of interest to fellow dudes – marriage, fatherhood, work. A group of them began meeting for deeper discipleship in what is now the Sunday evening men’s Bible study. About a year ago, the door was opened to do something greater for men at Bay Area, and the men’s fellowship was born. They launched with a Saturday breakfast with over 100 men in November 2016, and continue to meet for monthly breakfasts, a pickup basketball game on Monday nights and other activities. It’s a discipleship environment in which guys from Bay Area can connect with other guys, study the Word, and walk through life together.
“It helps you feel like you’re not alone,” Bob highlighted. “I think a lot of us [men] feel like we’re the only ones dealing with the problems we have, so when you get a group of guys like we’re starting to get together … [guys find] a brother who understand what they’re going through that they can go and talk to. “We’ve introduced guys to other men who can pour into their lives, speak into situations or just pray with them to other men who can pour into their lives, speak into situations, or just pray with them. … Just offering to pray with them is pretty powerful, because that lets them know there’s someone who cares about them that they can turn to when they’ve got something tough going on in their life.” Prayer plays a lead role in Bob’s service as a deacon, as well. Nominated and installed on the deacon team in 2014, he has a heart to help people not only tangibly, but also spiritually. With each of the individuals he’s able to serve, he makes it a priority to share the gospel and encourage them in their walks with Jesus. He also has a burden to pray for each of his fellow deacons weekly, if not daily. “I have this desire to get closer to God,” Bob said, explaining his passion for prayer. “I keep reading, ‘If you seek my face you’ll find me,’ so I feel like the way I’m going to find Him is through prayer. … The amount of healing it does in me [and] the encouragement it is give me the ability to keep going forward.” Bob holds a degree in computer science – which he completed through Liberty University a year and a half go after taking classes for 19 years – and works as an oracle database engineer for a government contractor that supports the Navy. He spends his spare time meeting new people, developing relationships and shooting hoops – something he claims to be really good at, though he doubts anyone would agree with him. He loves to spend time with his son, Lucas, playing video games, and has a close relationship with his daughter, helping her apply what she learns on Sundays to her life as a middle schooler. “[And] my wife – I love her! – between her and Camryn, those are the two reasons I was able to come to faith,” he said.
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By Ben Alford
I’M
going to get deep–really deep. One meter deep, to be precise.
This was my fourth adventure to Central America and my second to El Salvador, which is a country in great need, plagued by gang violence, corruption and poverty. Serving a week among the less-advantaged with my Salvadoran brothers and sisters in Christ was a privilege. In addition, this year I had the privilege of co-leading the team along with Andy Gish, so I experienced the additional joy and responsibility of leading my peers in serving overseas. In El Salvador, our main mission was to help build a soccer field. Thirteen 22 GO&MAKE M AY
college students, two naval officers, and a 10-year-old girl were tasked with digging a trench that was one meter deep, 60 centimeters wide, and spanned the short end of a small field at the Guayabo Children’s Development Center. The center is run by Great Commission Latin America (GCLA) through the local church, Iglesia Gran Comision. The hole is the basis for a retaining wall to keep earthquakes from damaging the field’s outer perimeter. We thought that with several burly college kids ready to get at it, this job would be a piece of cake. It turned out to be quite the challenge, and we were often covered in dirt as we tackled this project to improve the center.
The Children’s Development Center exists to offer hope. Our partners and friends there, through child sponsorship, donations and short term missions teams, come alongside parents in the local neighborhood to combat the threats of poverty and gang affiliation. Many children will grow up and be forced into gangs such as MS-13, or be stuck in abject poverty for the rest of their lives if someone does not help. This is where we offer hope. Sponsored children come to the center after school each day for medical care, a meal, academic tutoring and most importantly, to learn about the saving power of Jesus. Many people sacrifice their time and talents to break the cycle of desperation.
“ I was able to witness God’s grace firsthand – just as we were covered in dirt in that trench, we were covered in grace.” Our team experienced some amazing moments of grace. For example, on the second day we were there, we went to a park to evangelize. Some of us played soccer with kids; the rest of us were paired with translators and went around to talk about Jesus with people in the park. One of our team members felt crippling fear about sharing through what he called an abrupt “Jehovahwitness style” evangelism. Earlier in the day, he was hit with an unpleasant level of digestive trouble that would’ve given him a perfectly good reason not to do what he had been fearing for so long. But rather than leaving or watching from a park bench, he volunteered to be a part of the small groups talking to the locals. Through his obedience, God moved with him past his fear and into working for His Kingdom in a way that he would have never expected. To our missionary’s surprise, people in El Salvador are much more open to talking about their faith than he imagined. Acts 4:32-34 says “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.” We picked this as our team verse before the trip, and as I reflect I can see just how perfectly it fit our experience. I was able to witness God’s grace firsthand – just as we were covered in dirt in that trench, we were covered in grace. One thing we were told before we left was to be flexible. Sometimes plans change, things don’t go as expected, or we feel that we are underutilized. Whether it was miscommunication or having to painstakingly move piles of dirt again
and again, plenty of these frustrations occurred on the trip. God used them as gentle reminders that we were there to help the people of San Salvador with their work, not the other way around. While 80 percent of Salvadorans live in poverty, many of them are far richer than we ever imagined. We were able to meet and talk to some incredible people on house visits, encouraging them in their faith or sharing the hope that we have with them. Surrounded by friends and family, they value interaction and quality time more highly than task completion. We are prone to put our faith and trust in material things such as hobbies, cars and careers, expecting them to bring us happiness. We focus
on achieving the next goal and striving for the American dream. We look down on others for failing and hide our own failures with a smile. We like to say that everything is “just fine, thank you,” when in reality nothing could be further from the truth. The answer to true freedom lies in what Jesus Christ did for us. Putting my faith and trust in Him, rather than myself, has been the most fulfilling experience of my life. I fall short, but He never will. This hope is visible in our brothers and sisters who we met and served with in El Salvador. As a leader this year, I got to see all of the planning, logistics, finances and prayer involved in bringing this team
together. In reality, the trip started a few months before we actually went and is only now winding down. It was a big time investment; we had team meetings at least once a week for a month and a half before we left, where everyone took turns leading devotions and sharing their testimonies. There were a lot of setbacks to get through, as well. For example, we had to jump through a lot of hoops to get our trip approved by our school; at some points, the process was so frustrating that we came close to calling it quits. Another challenge to overcome was rallying a tired team together at the end of long days. In El Salvador, we met every night to debrief what happened throughout the day, but some days everyone was so exhausted that we almost skipped the meeting entirely so that we could sleep. I now see that all of these things were spiritual warfare –the enemy tried to ruin God’s plans. God taught me to be flexible, persevere, and trust that everything would work out. Our week in San Salvador was filled with lots of laughter, smiles, sweat and dirt. According to my friend Jorge Solorzano, El Salvador has “beautiful people, the most delicious food ever, and the greatest beaches in the world.” We were able to see Mayan ruins, eat pupusas, and spend precious time together in fellowship. Last year, I was baptized in El Salvador. This year, at the end of the week, I had the opportunity to baptize my team member and college roommate who now understands the love and compassion our Savior gives to us. It was a great week! We praise God for the opportunity and look forward for the day when we get to return. In the meantime, we’re excited to share our faith right here in Annapolis!
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PUBLIC MEETINGS Healthcare Reform Symposium
MAY 16 The Opioid Epidemic
MAY 23 7 P. M . I N T H E C H A P E L B AY A R E A C O M M U N I T Y C H U R C H
info & rsvp: lisarobinlederman@gmail.com Dr. Mark Plaster, Emergency Physician and expert in Public Health Policy & Law, will lead informative discussions on healthcare and the opioid epidemic.
HOSTED BY
DR. MARK PLASTER MD JD
SAVE THE DATE FOR THESE EVENTS
Saturday, May 6th, 9 AM - Noon at Bay Area Community Church RSVP is required at bayareacc.org/deepblueevents Registration starts one month prior to event. Continental breakfast and KidCare provided with registration.
Parents, Bay Area Student Ministry wants to encourage and come alongside you as you raise and disciple your teens. Check out our resource page for our monthly Parenting 101 videos.
bayareacc.org/basmresources
CARE NETWORK
HAPPENINGS
BAPTISM
Sometimes life hands us struggles: loss of a loved one, serious illness, parenting difficulties, divorce, addiction and many other challenges. These struggles can feel isolating, yet God never intended that we walk through them alone. He is in the business of comforting, restoring and renewing all things for His glory. Your circumstances are not beyond that; He longs to reach you with His redemption and grace. We want to walk with you through this season of life. The Care Network is a free, confidential, Jesuscentered ministry that assists those seeking help. We provide hope and healing through a variety of resources both inside and outside the walls of Bay Area. Let’s partner through these struggles together. Email leanne.lane@bayareacc.org to get started.
Wo u l d y o u l i ke t o b e b a p t i z e d ? For more information... • K-5th: contact gail.wiles@bayareacc.org • 6-12th: contact brent.squires@bayareacc.org • Adults: contact debbie.klimczyk@bayareacc.org
CELEBRATE RECOVERY Celebrate Recovery (CR) is for anyone seeking a richer life through worshipping God and being in community with others. Don’t let your hurts, habits or hangups keep you isolated. Join us weekly on Monday nights at 7 p.m. for community, worship and teaching. Interested in learning more about what we are all about? Join us at our gathering on the first Monday of every month for dinner, conversation, and a chance to see what it is all about. KidCare is available. Info: leanne.lane@bayareacc.org HOSPITAL/HOMEBOUND INVITATION If you or a loved one is in the hospital or homebound we would love to serve you. Contact us so that we can learn how to be of assistance. Info: leanne.lane@bayareacc.org or 443-837-3718.
CONNECT WITH BAY AREA If you’re new or just have a question, we’d love to meet you and help you get plugged in. Look for a member of our connect team in a black shirt in the lobby after each Sunday gathering or visit us online at bayareacc.org/new.
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GRIEFSHARE SUPPORT GROUP When experiencing the loss of a loved one, there is a deep, prolonged impact caused by the death of a spouse, child, family member or close friend. The griever needs ongoing support and encouragement. The GriefShare Support Group meets weekly to help those grieving by providing a safe place to walk through this time with the support of others. The support group meets on Thursdays through June 29 from 6:45-9 p.m. This is an open group so join us any time. Info: leanne.lane@bayareacc.org
MARRIAGE MINISTRY UPDATE We recently partnered with marriedpeople.org, an organization that has developed a marriage strategy for churches. With this strategy we have inspired large group experiences, empowered small groups, and equipped individual couples. We will host three to four large-group events per year, such as the Great Date Night; three to four small-group events such as marriagefocused Learning Communities or weekend retreats; and three to four events for individual couples, such as date nights that include KidCare. Sign up for Bay Area’s weekly email update at bayareacc.org to stay up to date and receive a link to the MarriedPeople Monthly Ezine. Info: leanne.lane@bayareacc.org PREMARITAL MENTORING Are you newly engaged? We want to partner with you as you establish a strong, Jesus-centered life with your future spouse. Through premarital mentoring you’ll be paired with trained marriage mentors (couples who have been married for 10 or more years) who will equip you with tools and resources you’ll need to succeed in marriage. Info: premarital.ministry@bayareacc.org MARRIAGE MINISTRY TEAM - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Our marriage ministry team seeks to encourage and equip couples to start and stay strong in their marriages. If you have a passion to help strengthen marriages and have been married for 10 or more years, come be a part of this ministry. Read more at bayareacc.org/marriageministry. Info: leanne.lane@bayareacc.org TEMPORARY HOUSING FOR PREMARITAL COUPLES Occasionally, couples who are living together enter our Premarital Ministry. We believe strongly that the best way to honor God before marriage is to remain pure and live separately. We’re 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
CONNECTING MINISTRY DISCOVER BAY AREA - NEWCOMER LUNCH New to Bay Area? We’re glad you’re here. You may have questions about who we are or what we believe so join us on May 7 at 12:45 p.m. in the Bay Cafe for Discover Bay Area. Enjoy a free lunch and hear from a few of our pastors and staff about our mission, values and how you can get plugged in. No RSVP necessary, and kids are welcome. Hope to see you there. Our next event will be on June 4. Info: rachel.perry@bayareacc.org
MISSIONAL COMMUNITIES MISSIONAL COMMUNITY TASTER Life is better connected. Here at Bay Area, we’re all about community. Being with others helps us grow in our love for God, for each other, and for our neighbor. If you are new or simply looking to get plugged in, join us on Sunday, May 21 at 12:45 p.m. in The Chapel for our Missional Community Taster event. We’ll spend some time getting a “taste” of what community looks like and help get you plugged into a community near you. Lunch is provided and KidCare is available with registration. For more info or to register go to bayareacc.org/missionalcommunities.
MEN’S FELLOWSHIP MEN’S MORNING BIBLE STUDY Tuesdays from 6-7:30 a.m. in room 236 at Bay Area. Info: Jim at jlradcliffe@hotmail.com MEN’S EVENING BIBLE STUDY Sundays from 6-8 p.m. in room 235 at Bay Area. 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 THE LINE: MEN'S MONTHLY BREAKFAST Men, join us on May 13 from 8-9:30 a.m. in the auditorium for The Line: God ‘N Grits, a men's monthly breakfast. 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
GLOBAL MISSIONS It’s not too late to join a short term missions team in 2017. In the fall, we’ll be traveling to El Salvador, Southeast Asia and South Sudan. Learn more or apply at bayareacc.org/stm; registration ends July 1. Interested in financially sending others? Give to a short term missionary or team at bayareacc.org/stmgive. Stay in the know with global missions by receiving our monthly email update full of event information and ways to pray. Sign up at bayareacc.org/globalmissionsemail.
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY LEADER APPRECIATION May 7 is our Leader Appreciation Day! Our leaders are an amazing group of people who have been gifted by God to disciple our kids. We are encouraging you to bring a gift for your child(ren)'s leaders on May 7 to show your appreciation for them. Some suggestions are: gift cards, notes from your child, candy, something depicting a special moment or event that your child remembers, devotional, etc. Be creative and let’s show them how much we love them. WAVE RIDERS PRESCHOOL PLAYGROUP Hey Wave Riders! Join us outdoors in the sunshine on May 8, at 10 a.m. to pick strawberries at Chase Produce. On May 20, we will have a fun morning at Watkin’s Park. Plan to bring a bagged lunch for your family. For more details about Wave Riders, check us out on Facebook by searching "Wave Riders Play Group" or send an email to Brittany at brittany.dunklin@bayareacc.org. NURSING MOTHERS Children’s Ministry offers two locations for nursing mothers during Sunday gatherings. If you would like a quiet place to nurse, please come to our Tidal Pool area and you will be directed to a room equipped with glider rockers. If you would like a place to nurse and hear the gathering during the 9:30 and 11:15 a.m. gatherings only, visit our Children’s Welcome desk and you will be directed to our Children's Ministry director’s office. M AY GO&MAKE 27
COLLEGE MINISTRY YOUNG ADULT MC Our desire is to see young adults connect in community where they are loving God, serving others and growing spiritually together. Missional Communities are a great opportunity for young adults (ages 18-25) to do this weekly. Info: bryan. mcfarland@bayareacc.org.
WOMEN'S MINISTRY At Bay Area, we invite women to join us on a spiritual journey in community with others. Like the woman at the well in John 4, Jesus meets us where we are and invites us into a deeper relationship with Him. This summer there are many opportunities for spiritual growth through seminars and Bible studies. Registration starts May 1 at bayareacc.org/women/spiritualgrowth and at the connect kiosks in the lobby on May 7 and 21. SUMMER SEMINAR SERIES This summer we are offering a Summer Seminar Series every Tuesday night in June from 7-9 p.m. to help you build bridges in some of your most important relationships. You may sign up for one or all five sessions below. Bring your Bible and a notebook. (Note: these were offered as workshops at our recent Kingdom Come Conference for Women). JUNE 6: BUILDING YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD We will practice ways we can grow closer to God through quiet time, reflection on Scripture and journaling. Our time will be interactive, blending active practice and discussion. Leader: Jody Yearwood JUNE 13: BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS GENERATIONS We will hear from a panel of older and younger women who have experienced the joy of discipling others. They will inspire you with practical ways to pass on your faith to the next generation. Panel includes Mary Kaye St Cyr, Krysia St Cyr, Rachel Pletts, Lorraine Hiskey, and Colleen Carter. JUNE 20: BUILDING BRIDGES FOR THE GOSPEL (Part I) In this seminar, we will learn the essentials of the gospel, ways to share it and build bridges with those far from God. Leader: Sarah Meehan de Solorzano JUNE 27. BUILDING BRIDGES FOR THE GOSPEL (PART II) We will continue this seminar by learning how to write and practice sharing our testimony to share with others. We will see how our story can be used by God to impact others. WOMEN’S SUMMER BIBLE STUDIES (Books are not provided. Order at amazon.com or cbd.com) JOURNEY INTO GOD'S WORD Tuesdays, June 27, July 11, 18 and 25 from 7-9 p.m. Learn how to read, interprete and apply the Bible to your life. With Columbia International University student Colleen Forsythe, teaching, we will study two resources: Journey Into God’s Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible by J. Scott Duvall and 28 GO&MAKE M AY
J. Daniel Hays and Urban Legends of the New Testament: 40 Common Misconceptions by David A. Croteau. THE GENTLE ART OF DISCIPLING WOMEN by Dana Yeakley Wednesday, May 31-July 12 from 9:30–11:30 a.m. In this study we will look at how to be His disciple and make disciples by learning key Scriptures and practical advice to start meeting with others. Info: Laurie Gregory at thewell@bayareacc.org UNGLUED by Lysa TerKeurst Wednesdays, June 7-28 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Join us for an interactive class with Bette Christian to gain insight into our emotions. We will discuss ways to improve our ability to respond with calm and confidence to various life situations and relationships in a way that honors God and seeks to treat others with respect. BRIDGING THE RACIAL GAP/MULTIETHNIC CONVERSATIONS Saturdays, June 10 - July 1 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. In a racially diverse and often divided world, how do we find a way to become one in Christ? Join us for open and honest discussions handled with love, sensitivity and respect as we study Multiethnic Conversations by Mark DeYmaz and Oneya Okuwobi. Info: Laurie Gregory at thewell@bayareacc.org WOMEN OF LEGACY (55+) We meet on the second and fourth Mondays of the month for a time of encouragement, prayer and serving from 10:30 a.m. - noon in The Warehouse. On May 8 Sara Meehan de Solarzano will share about her journey as a missionary in El Salvador. On May 22 Linda Dennis of "Partners in Care" will share about their vision for helping older adults remaining independent in their own homes and engaged in the community. Info: Cedulie Sanchez at luisandcedulie@gmail.com
STUDENT MINISTRY CLUB 678 Club 678 is our monthly Friday night h a n g o u t for middle schoolers. Our next Club 678 will be Friday, May 5 from 7-9 p.m., and will be Cinco De Mayo-themed. There will be tacos for sale in the snack shop, taco-themed games, a gigantic taco piñata and more! Students can invite friends and bring money for snacks. No registration required. Questions? Contact lydia. macbride@bayareacc.org. LEADER APPRECIATION May 7 is our Leader Appreciation Day! Our leaders are an amazing group of people who have been gifted by God to disciple our students. We are encouraging you to bring a gift for your son or daughter’s leaders on May 7 to show your appreciation for them. Some suggestions are: gift cards, notes from the student, candy, devotional, etc. Be creative and let’s show them how much we love them!
FINANCIALS Annapolis Campus Operating Budget Financial Update As of April 16, 2017 New Fiscal Year Began September 1, 2016 ANNAPOLIS CAMPUS Fiscal Year Giving Goal
$ 4,792,000
YTD Received YTD Goal YTD Actual vs. Goal APR To Date Received APR To Date Giving Goal
$ 3,094,567 $ 3,101,990 (7,423) 0.2% Behind $ $ 282,606 $ 238,755
EASTON CAMPUS Fiscal Year Giving Goal
$
187,000
YTD Received YTD Goal YTD Actual vs. Goal APR To Date Received APR To Date Giving Goal
$ $ $ $ $
105,024 118,672 (13,648) 11.5% Behind 10,008 10,788
Annapolis Campus Outstanding Building Debt $3,345,037 (as of 3-31-17) 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.
OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE AMBASSADOR TEAM: If you have a passion for people and Jesus and have attended Bay Area for at least six months, the ambassador role is for you. Come help newcomers get connected. Info: rachel.perry@bayareacc.org AUDIO/VIDEO TEAM: We’re looking for a few more passionate, committed people to partner with our Sunday production team. Info: tres.cozad@bayareacc.org CHAIR MINISTRY: Serve on the chair set-up/tear-down team. Info: chairs@bayareacc.org ESPRESSO BAR: Serve as a barista after one of the gatherings once a month. Training provided. Info: sherri.raimondo@bayareacc.org CHILDREN’S WELCOME TEAM: Welcome and assist new families through the Children's Ministry experience on Sundays. Info: danielle.tritone@bayareacc.org DEEP BLUE BUDDIES: Do you have a heart to serve children with special needs? We’re looking for dedicated volunteers to partner with children on Sunday mornings in The Deep Blue. Info: tammy.taschenberger@bayareacc.org CHILDREN'S SET DESIGN TEAM: Serve on the set design team for our Preschool and Elementary Large Group spaces. Email brittany.dunklin@bayareacc.org for Preschool and aimee.coyle@bayareacc.org for Elementary.
Note: You will need to donate via check if the fund to which you wish to give is not listed online. All undesignated checks will go toward the general operating fund.
GOLF CART DRIVERS: Looking for friendly folks to pick people up in the parking lot before gatherings to ease their walk into the building. Must be 21 or older and have a clean driving record. Info: gail.wiles@bayareacc.org
How Can I Participate In The Descendants Project?
HOSPITAL/HOMEBOUND VISITATION: Interested in being part of a team reaching those hospitalized or homebound? Info: leanne.lane@bayareacc.org
Pledge cards are available on Sundays at the connect kiosks and online at bayareacc.org. For gifts other than cash, contact our finance team at 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.
PARKING MINISTRY: Serve by directing traffic and greeting people as they arrive. Info: parking@bayareacc.org PRESCHOOL TEAM: Serve the youngest at Bay Area on our Preschool Team on Sunday mornings. Info: courtney.gregory@bayareacc.org SAFETY TEAM: Are you passionate about safety or have experience in security, law enforcement, EMS or First Responders and want to serve in this area? Info: safety@bayareacc.org WOMEN’S MINISTRY: Serve on an event planning team or in discipling other women. We would love to get to know you and see how your gifts can be used. Info: janet.graves@bayareacc.org
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LEARNING COMMUNITIES Learning Communities are intended to strengthen your Biblical knowledge, character and/or practical ministry skills. They are also an opportunity to get to know others at Bay Area on Sunday mornings in an environment of learning and interaction. Sign up at bayareacc.org/learningcommunities. COLLIDING WORLDVIEWS MAY 14, 21 @ 9:30 A.M. IN DOCK B (right side) Everyone has a worldview. There are three major worldviews: the Secular Humanist Worldview, the Eastern Worldview and the Judeo-Christian Worldview (The Biblical Worldview). This quick, two-week Learning Community will focus on understanding the difference between these three major ways of looking at life. You can expect tangents, politics, religion and philosophy to be discussed, as our worldviews touch so many different aspects of our lives. MAN UP JUNE 4 – 25 @ 9:30 A.M. IN DOCK B (right side) Connect with other men at Bay Area while grappling with the everyday challenges of following Jesus. We will dig into the Word and let the Word dig into us as we grow together.
PRAYER MINISTRY Jesus lived a life of unceasing prayer that connected Him to the Father. We too long to be devoted to prayer. Our Prayer Ministry is comprised of individuals dedicated to gathering in prayer for all aspects of Bay Area life: our gatherings, communities, pastors, missions and so much more. Individuals are also available to pray with you on Sunday mornings after each gathering (front and right of the Chapel stage). Read more at bayareacc.org/prayer. Info: pat.linnell@bayareacc.org
EASTON CAMPUS HAPPENINGS DISCOVER BAY AREA Join us the first Sunday of each month for Discover Bay Area following the 10 a.m. gathering in Easton. It's an opportunity to hear from our Campus Pastor, Craig Fadel, learn about who we are as a church, our story and our vision for making disciples in less than 20 minutes. No need to RSVP and kids are welcome. MISSIONAL COMMUNITY TASTER We believe that church happens on more than just Sunday morning. Come get a taste of missional community, groups that meet in homes throughout the week, through our MC Taster event on May 18 at 7 p.m. Dessert and drinks will be served. Kidcare is available in most cases upon request. To learn more or RSVP, email easton@bayareacc.org. MINISTRY PARTNER ORIENTATION Ministry Partnership is a commitment to live out our faith together under the mission of making passionate, maturing followers of Jesus from here to the nations. It is an invitation to pursue Christ personally, for our community, and for the nations. It's a commitment to be a disciple and to make disciples. We will be meeting on Saturday, May 20 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Lunch will be included and Kidcare is available in most cases upon request. To learn more or RSVP, email easton@bayareacc.org.
LOCAL OUTREACH LOCAL OUTREACH SERVING OPPORTUNITIES Missional communities often don’t know how to get involved with serving locally. We’re here to help. There are many organizations in the Annapolis area that will be blessed by your involvement and we’d love to connect you with them. Go to bayareacc.org/localoutreach to fill out an involvement form. THE WALK ANNUAL FUNDRAISING EVENT Walk the Walk Foundation’s second-annual fundraiser, “The Walk,” is May 11 from 6-8 p.m. at the Waugh Chapel Towne Centre. It will be a night of family fun with activities for all ages. Proceeds will help local kids in need by providing backpacks filled with school supplies and Christmas gifts. Last year's event allowed WTWF to help 30 percent more kids in Anne Arundel County! Sign up and learn more at wtwf.org.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES KIDCARE TEAM MEMBERS Our KidCare team has a need for individuals 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? Visit the Children’s Welcome counter on Sundays or contact our KidCare Coordinator Dax at dax.clinkscale@bayareacc.org. 30 GO&MAKE M AY
WANT TO BRING GO&MAKE ALONG WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO? BAYAREACC.ORG/GOANDMAKE
MAY 11 6 - 8 P.M.
WAUGH CHAPEL TOWNE CENTRE
WTWF.org
FUN WALK FOOD LIVE MUSIC KID-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES
: R E M M U S S I H T COMING
A TWO-NIGHT FAMILY EXTRAVAGANZA
JUNE 20-21 NIGHT 1: KIDZ
BLITZ
Children in kindergarten through fifth grade will participate in onstage challenges and games Nickelodeon-style. Trust us, your kids will not want to miss this event.
NIGHT 2:
FAMILY BLITZ
This is a night for elementary-age children and their parents to participate together. For each child attending, they will need a guardian or parent to join them. No KidCare will be provided, so younger siblings with their parents are welcome.
PRESCHOOL BLITZ will be the same nights and times as Kidz and Family Blitz. Preschoolers will participate in our Gadgets and Gizmos themed event, where they will have fun discovering how God made each of them unique and in His image.
bayareacc.org/deepblueevents 32 GO&MAKE M AY