A Prayer Challenge In This Issue Page 4 Hats of Hope The Gospel Institute BEST Getaway to the Gardens Coffee with the Elders PrimeTime Fellowship Child Dedication Class Page 5 Student Ministries Membership Class Summer Celebration GrandCamps Page 6 Vacation Bible School Page 7 GO: Prairie River Camp (MN) Page 8 Time Lab VBS
How blessed a church is when God gives the gift of committed, qualified elders and deacons to shepherd, serve and lead the spiritual family! Without such gifts from God, the church would be lost, wandering, vulnerable, defenseless, sickly and scattered. Think of what sheep are when they are without a shepherd. This is the condition of all believers unless committed, qualified men are called by God to the work of leading the church. How good God has been to Bethany to give us 20 men who shepherd as elders or elders-in-development and 15 men who serve as deacons and deacons-in-development. The church is commanded by God to love their spiritual leaders. God urges church members, “We ask you, brothers, to respect those
Dr. Ritch Boerckel
who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves” (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13, ESV). We should note that God does not typically command or urge us to do something that comes natural to us. He commands that which our own flesh opposes. Very few believers naturally esteem church leaders highly in love. We either tend to neglect thinking about them or we are tempted to resent them for failing to meet our own expectations. God in wisdom urges us to make spiritual efforts to love them because the health of our own souls and of His whole church is dependent upon it. If you are a church member who desires to worship God, one Continued on page 2
Prayer continued from page 1.
question you will ask is, “What can I practically do to esteem my spiritual leaders very highly in love?” Paul answers that question for us just a few verses down, “Brothers, pray for us” (1 Thess. 5:24–25, ESV). Prayer for your spiritual leaders will draw your hearts in love and esteem for them. Prayer will also impact their lives and ministry in dramatic ways that will bring glory to God and joy to the whole community of faith. I challenge you to pray every day this week for your church leaders. See what God does in your own heart through committing to pray for them by name for seven days. God may begin a revival in your heart through such obedience. And God may even begin a revival in our church through it. Will you commit to praying for your elders and deacons every day for the next seven days? God will use your prayers to pour out His blessing! If you take up this challenge, here are seven specific requests you can make for your church leaders before the Lord. What a gift from God such men are to you and what a gift from God you can be to them! Pray for them, for their wives and for their children by name! 1.
Pray for personal holiness.
Pray for spiritual passion for God. The leader’s personal walk with the Lord is the engine that drives all ministry forward. Without genuine zeal for God and His glory that flows
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3. Pray for endurance encouragement.
“Prayer will also impact their lives and ministry in dramatic ways that will bring glory to God and joy to the whole community of faith.”
Spiritual leaders first lead by example. The devil works to undermine God’s glory in the church by placing temptations and assaults on the lives of those who shepherd the flock. Leaders need prayer for spiritual power and protection so that they will keep their eyes fixed upon growth in practical righteousness. Pray for God to strengthen your leaders to abhor sin and to put it to death in their lives so that they might lift up the Name of Jesus. 2.
from deep, intimate fellowship with God, the elder or deacon will be like a sailboat in the water without any wind. A sailing craft is described as being “in irons” when it is stopped with no wind in its sails and with no wind expected. It is simply stuck in the open water without the ability to carry its passengers forward to any destination. A church with passionless leaders is stuck in the “no-go zone” and will be fruitless in her labors. and
Discouragement is one of the devil’s chief weapons against spiritual leaders. Spiritual leaders often endure the spearing point of slander or gossip that cuts deep. They love the sheep who turn and bite them. They also fight discouragement in the face of the many spiritual battles that rise up in a church. The work God calls spiritual leaders to demands both endurance and encouragement. Endurance keeps them in the race. It helps them refuse to quit. Encouragement keeps them running strong. It helps them to finish well. 4. Pray for vision for fulfilling Jesus’ mission.
Spiritual leaders need a laser-like focus upon the work that Jesus gave His church to accomplish. The church is given a work to complete. That work is focused on church planting, evangelism and disciplemaking. Yet the spiritual leader faces a thousand distractions that may draw his attention away from Jesus’ central mission . . . sometimes those distractions relate to the busyness of his personal life, sometimes those distractions relate to the expectations of church members, sometimes those distractions relate to organizational leadership. There are so many ways a leader may be tempted to take his eyes off the central mission that Jesus gave us to do as a church. Continued on page 3.
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Pray for faith and wisdom in decision-making. Every week spiritual leaders are required to make dozens of decisions that impact relationships in the church. They sometimes err in those decisions. They sometimes are wise in those decisions and yet are criticized for them. The fear of man can be a huge factor in decision-making. A leader can begin to think, “What decision will please the most people?” Praise God for leaders who simply ask, “What decision will bring the most glory to God?” and then fearlessly act on those decisions. Spiritual leaders need faith in God so that they do not lean on their own understanding. Spiritual leaders need wisdom so that they would acknowledge God as they study God’s Word. Then, God promises to direct a church’s paths!
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Pray for unity within the leadership team. Nothing damages a church more surely and more severely than disunity among spiritual leaders. The church can weather many storms provided the leaders walk together through them by the power of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual leaders are right to disagree and to communicate transparently and boldly with one another. But God designed that they disagree and speak plainly in a context of mutual joyful respect, relational love and listening ears. I am so thankful for the unity of the Spirit among our spiritual leaders! Pray for God to deepen that unity for His glory!
Elders Jon Baumann Cal Benedict Ritch Boerckel Bob Castle Don Haupt Chris Larson Jack Mason Marty Roth Kyle Scholl Joel Smith Steve Weaver
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Pray for personal love for each member of the church. The role of the elders and the deacons is up close and personal. The heart of the spiritual leader is to love the sheep in the flock . . . to care personally for the spiritual welfare of each member. Leaders need confidence from God to be vulnerable with members and risk their rejection as they reach out in love to the people in the church. Pray for this love to grow in the hearts of our elders and deacons!
Will you accept my challenge and pray every day over the next week for the elders and deacons in our church? “Let the thought sink deep into the heart of every church, that their minister will be such a minister as their prayers make him. ...How perilous is the condition of that minister ... whose heart is not encouraged, whose hands are not strengthened, and who is not upheld by the prayers of his people! ...It is at a fearful expense that ministers are ever allowed to enter the pulpit without being preceded, accompanied and followed by the earnest prayers of the churches. It is no marvel that the pulpit is so powerless, and ministers so often disheartened when there are so few to hold up their hands. … When the churches cease to pray for ministers, ministers will no longer be a blessing to the churches.” ~Gardiner Spring (1785–1873)
Elders in Development
Deacons
Deacons in Development
Josh Beakley Eric Betts Dan Hoyt Wes Kieser Greg Link Josh Moon Billy Schick Joel Taylor Jeff Williamson
Jason Barley Mark Ellison Barry Heisey Dan Hoerr Steve Hornbrook John Myatt Ron Penick Vince Warner Dennis Zimmerman
Justin Bailey Doug Hamilton Dave Ramsay Denny Reed Brian Stone Wes Wolven 3
Hats of Hope Saturday, June 2 and July 14 from 9 to 11am in Room 815 Use your gifts and talents in sewing and knitting, or simply cut fabric and make fabric flowers for hats for cancer patients. Yarn and materials are supplied if you desire to make hats at home. Contact: Holly Miller at 648-1693.
Sunday, June 3 at 9:45am In the Library Area Near the Fireplace
The Doctrine of Future Things Mondays 6-9pm, June 11, 18 & 25
MINIMESTER
This class will explore the Bible’s teaching regarding the yet-to-be fulfilled promises of the biblical covenants, the relationship of Israel and the church, the blessed hope of the Christian, the rapture of the church, the great tribulation period, the second coming of Jesus Christ, the millennial kingdom, the future judgments of God, and the eternal state of both the redeemed and the unredeemed. Class includes required reading, a written paper and a quiz. A copy of Paul Benware’s Understanding End Times Prophecy is necessary ($20). Sign up at bethanycentral.org or call the office at 692-1755.
Everyone is invited to come and talk to the elders about anything—question, concern, prayer, whatever. This is not the only time elders are available, people can reach out to elders any time, but this is a regularly scheduled time/place to make it as easy as possible for people to meet with them on a Sunday.
PrimeTime Fellowship
Monday, June 18 at 11am in the Sr. High Room
Senior adults are invited to join us for sweet fellowship and a delicious lunch. To sign up, call the church office at 692-1755. Also, mark your calendar for our July PrimeTime which will be held on Monday, July 23 at 11am.
BEST Getaway to the Gardens Thursday, June 21, 8am-8pm
Enjoy a day visiting three popular garden attractions in Rockford IL (Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens, Anderson Japanese Gardens, Klehm Arboretum & Botanical Gardens). We will travel via Bethany bus (and van if needed) departing at 8am from Bethany and returning around 8pm. Cost for the trip is $25 per person which includes transportation, garden entrance fees and a light lunch (dinner on your own). RSVP to Laura at laura@bethanycentral.org.
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Sunday, June 24 @ 9:45am
Parents wishing to have a child dedicated should plan to attend this class in the Conference Room. We will cover what child dedication is, basic parenting principles, and an overview of Bethany resources. The next Parent/Child Dedication will be held on Sunday, July 8.
Student Ministries Calendar June 3-8 Summer Camp 17 JH & SH Pancake Breakfast @ 9:45am 20 SummerFest, 6:15-9pm 27 SummerFest, 6:15-9pm July 4 NO YG 11 Summer Lunch, 12-2pm 18 SummerFest, 6:15-9pm 25 SummerFest, 6:15-9pm 27-28 Transition Retreat erin@bethanycentral.org | josh@bethanycentral.org
August 5 - 9 at Menno Haven Camp and Retreat Center in Tiskilwa, IL
GrandCamps is a unique, grand faith adventure for grandparents and their grandchildren focused on leaving a faith-legacy for the next generations. Through a week of purposeful activities that grandparents and grandchildren experience together you’ll build a treasure chest of life-changing memories while discovering from God’s Word what it means to walk in the truth.
Saturday, July 7 from 8:00-11:00am If you are interested in joining the church or just learning more about Bethany, plan to attend. Please RSVP to jennifer@bethanycentral.org.
Investigate the possibility of taking one or more of your grade-school age grandkids to GrandCamp Midwest this summer. Get Contact Rod Abel at kidzheart@comcast.net or 309-253-1618 for more information.
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From the Director |
Sarah Barley
Vacation Bible School — as I think back to my experience with VBS, I have memories of games on the lawn, the stage transformed into a western town or medieval castle, painting t-shirts, the pudding and Oreo snack, dirt and worms (yes! please do not ask the correlation), cheering on the girls as each number of the missionary offering was revealed and learning the wordless book and how each color and verse paints the Gospel presentation. As I grew, I began volunteering in VBS and now I am a mother whose children are experiencing some of the same memories I once did. I am incredibly awed at how our God has used His people and various ministries—like Vacation Bible School—to teach me about Him and His Word and draw me to Himself.
You can help! Set-Up Sunday, July 8, with pizza lunch
Tear-Down Each night my husband and I pray for our children’s salvation, that God would reveal to them their need for a Friday, July 13, with gondola lunch Savior, that they would invite Him to be Lord of their lives, and His Word would be rooted in their young minds. As we plan for VBS 2018, I was convicted that my prayer for the Please RSVP to ginny@bethanycentral.org. children attending VBS should mirror that of my own children. Deuteronomy 6:4-6 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. What a great blessing we have to lift these children up to our Heavenly Father. It so encourages me to know that others are also praying for my children and their salvation; so please join me in praying for those children who attend VBS July 9-13. The past few years, God has provided over 200 volunteers to pour into the lives of over 500 children—sharing the Gospel with them each day. Please pray with me that: God would be glorified in every aspect of VBS God would be working in the lives of the children—even now—freeing their schedules and giving them an
excitement to attend God would ignite a passion for the Gospel in the hearts of the volunteers to clearly and faithfully preach His Word each day to the children attending The children attending would finish the week with a better understanding of God, His Word and how to grow in Him God would draw children to Himself as their Savior and Lord I am thankful for the volunteers who invested in my walk with God and I know that many of them prayed with, and for me, as I grew. Please pray with me for Vacation Bible School 2018.
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What in the world is God doing in south central Minnesota? God called Jonathan and Christen Walberg away from Bethany with their family to serve with Youth For Christ in south central Minnesota more than 3 years ago. Jonathan was called to serve as the first full-time director at Prairie River Camp (PRC) near Bricelyn, Minnesota. Why did God send them there? Why are we in partnership with them?
Steve Hornbrook Global Outreach
PRC is surrounded by farm land which is sparsely populated. The small city of Albert Lea lies a half hour drive to the east, where Youth For Christ has a dropin center called The Rock, which is directed by Greg and Robin Gudal. The children that spend afternoons at The Rock are in the foster care system, live on the street, or have families that are dysfunctional because of addictions. These are not your typical church camp kids, but this is one of the main sources of campers at PRC! Last year a team from Bethany Baptist was asked to cook and serve food for the high school camp in mid-July. The team also had the opportunity to work on some maintenance projects for the camp when they were not busy with their primary responsibilities. While our team was not involved in discipleship ministry directly, their work enabled others to minister to the young people, which they did very effectively. J. Roche was the speaker for the week and Greg Gudal shared that he “addressed what it took for him to deal with hurt, sin and begin walking with Jesus through it all.” At the end of our [last] evening session, J. Roche asked if any of the youth would like to come forward with whatever struggles or things they would like prayer for. About 40 of the 50 youth responded. A few of these were already followers of Christ, but most did not have a previous relationship with the Savior and they were looking for forgiveness and help with their hurts. A team from Bethany returned to PRC this spring to work alongside the Walbergs getting the camp ready for this summer. That team was reminded by the staff at PRC that no matter what you are doing, whether it is driving nails, painting walls, or fixing the place up – when we support the ministry, we ARE fishing for men.
The team worked on projects between meal preps
The interior is still unfinished, much work remains before summer 2019
There is an opportunity this summer for Bethany to be part of a team that travels to PRC from July 15 through 22. This team will again be preparing and serving meals for the high school camp, but a larger team can also serve as cabin counselors or working on critical projects like developing the dining hall. If you are interested in serving on this team, please contact Steve Hornbrook at steve@bethanycentral.org or call 309-258-9594.
J.Roche spoke to the teens about giving their hurts to God
Future Dining Hall
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Bethany Baptist Church 7422 N. Heinz Lane Edwards, IL 61528
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