Acts of Faith
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH
We are a family of faith, sharing God’s love in a spirit of hope.
I (William) love Wednesday nights at church. There's food, friends, and normally pretty interesting learning opportunities, which are some of my favorite things! But, January isn't so great. It's cold, dark, and often icy. We historically have poor participation in January because people don't want to drive or get out of their blankets.
Therefore, this year we are delaying the start of Wednesday night meals until February 1. Instead, during the month of January we will have virtual options to gather and learn. Every Wednesday night at 6 there will be a virtual Bible study live on Facebook. Hop on and participate in the live discussion or watch it at a more convenient time. In January we will also hold the 3rd Annual Virtual Winter Olympics! Join in as a family or individual to complete weekly challenges and gather on Zoom to watch each other's entries. If you want to compete in Winter Olympics let William know.
On February 1 we will resume Wednesday night meals and for a program, we'll have a live finale for Winter Olympics! It's sure to be a great night, and a great semester of fun, food, and learning!
The Missions Committee has been emphasizing the CBF Offering for Global Missions during Advent. The theme is “A Place at the Table - Presence Matters.” Our goal is $5,000 which Faith Baptist will certainly surpass! To date we have given $2835. We will be collecting this offering through January 8 so you still have time to give. We will continue to hear and see
stories of missionaries working in their areas helping people get services they need, as well as encouraging people to work using their talents.
Thanks to the youth for taking Faith’s Christmas boxes to Corbin! They helped Scarlette Jasper, CBF missionary, organize the boxes to be ready to deliver to elementary, middle, and high school students.
In January we will be helping some folks who need items to set up housekeeping in their new home. We look forward to more opportunities to be present for those who need help in any way, offering a place at our table for everyone.
We have had an amazing year! Looking back we have done a lot of wonderful things and I’ve gotten to go to some really amazing places. I have continually been grateful to Faith for the sabbatical time I was allowed to take over the summer with my family. There will never be enough words to describe the impact that time away and experience has had on my family and me. The journey to and through my sabbatical will greatly impact my ministry for years to come.
Some of my favorite highlights from 2022 are the family retreat we had in the spring spending time on the mountaintop playing, laughing and sharing stories together. I also remain in awe of the children at our church and their desire and determination in putting together the lemonade stand this past fall. they ultimately raised over $500 for our local missions partner Amen House. And, of course, it was beyond joyful to watch the children have fun and work together putting on thankful to be a part of a church family that encourages and cheers on children the way Faith does.
There are many fun things already in the works for the upcoming year. I am working with Cynthia Insko to expand our Godly Play room in the new year, adding new stories for the Godly Play Sunday School class to explore. We are also welcoming new door people to help in our classroom. And we are looking to expand our Sunday afternoon gatherings each month to include even more ministries that the children enjoy! Be on the lookout for more details to come in the new year.
January 2023 is the perfect time to reflect on how you want to live your life. January is also the perfect time to refocus on your priorities and set goals.
Looking back on 2022, we had many opportunities to fellowship and share experiences with each other, like the wonderful JOY Luncheons and the speakers we heard from. I remember the trip to Paris to have lunch at Paradise Café and see the Eiffel Tower as well as the haunted Colville Covered Bridge. wonderful cruise down the Ohio River on the Mary B. Miller in Louisville. The trip to see the Christmas lights at Mustard Seed Hill was, as always, very good. On several occasions we went to Ramsey’s in Lexington for a great meal, and we had a great turnout for lunch at Joe Bologna’ s.
Looking forward to 2023, we are going to have several great speakers at our JOY Luncheon. In January, we are going to welcome our new mayor, Burney Jenkins, to come and speak to the group. Because our JOY Luncheon falls on MLK Day, we are going to change the date to January 23 to allow people to enjoy the events in Georgetown on that day! The main event that you must not miss will be at Georgetown Baptist Church! I am working on a speaker to discuss investments as we get older, as well as other speakers offering some great information for senior adults. I am also looking at some plays in the area which I think you will find fun, along with
movie nights again, and of course going places We, if nothing
I look forward to sharing many new and exciting times in 2023.
Blessings,
One of my favorite years of ministry may have just happened! It was so wonderful to actually be able to be more present and do ministry together and to see how our youth have grown!
This year we spent more time and energy serving around Georgetown, Kentucky, and New Mexico! We worked to make the Amen House prom event a huge success for so many families, plus we volunteered in their thrift store and collected food for their meal programs. We partnered with Georgetown Baptist Church for the K-Count community meal and we helped Scarlette Jasper in Corbin with her Christmas Shoe Boxes. Our youth are growing in their understanding of God’s call to love our neighbors and they know that they have much to give now. One of my favorite experiences was preparing for our mission trip to New Mexico and then seeing it finally happen! Our youth and adults are AMAZING! I couldn’t do ministry at all without the incredible adults who support and encourage and do whatever is asked! Our Student Committee is also incredible and creative and always ready and willing to step in! Watching and listening to our youth and adults share Christ and share God’ s love in a completely different setting was beautiful. To see the smiles and hear the insights that they had was good for my soul and others’ too! I hope that in the summer of 2024 you will plan to go back to New Mexico with us!
We’ve also had so much fun this year at Passport and on various retreats! I love our youth and they are good human beings! They are kind and funny and genuinely care about the world. They have made this year one of my favorites!
I can’t wait to see what all they do this year. We’ll have our Parent Meeting right after worship on January 8 in the RA. Please plan on staying for a few minutes so you can sign forms and hear about all that’s coming up in the spring and summer.
We’ve had a good semester with our college students as well. We together, shared meals together, and served at the Amen House together. I’m looking forward to the spring and continuing to build our group and relationships!
We have more ways for everyone to be involved in youth ministry and college ministry this year with DNow and missions and feeding students! We’ll have camp and a summer trip that we’ll need help with as well. If you want to be a part of growing our church and building the future, come alongside our teenagers and college students. You will be filled with excitement and hope!
