North Star Update A PUBLICATION OF THE MINNESOTA BAPTIST ASSOCIATION Inside This Issue: First Calvary, Inver Grove Heights
2
Grace Baptist, Virginia
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Jordan Church Plant
2
National Youth Conference
3
State Ladies Retreat
3
Granite City Baptist
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First Baptist, Lakeville Dissolution
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Calendar February 15-16: MBA State Men’s Advance March 3: 10 a.m., MBA Board Executive Committee. Berean Baptist, Brooklyn Park March 3: 12 p.m., MBA Full Board Meeting. Berean Baptist, Brooklyn Park. March 14-15: MBA State Ladies Retreat March 17-18: PBBC Board of Trustees on campus April 11-12: National Youth Conference at PBBC
Volume II, Issue 2
February 1, 2008
MBA State Men’s Advance: Men of Steel This year’s state men’s meeting will be held on February 15th and 16th on the campus of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College. Registration will begin at 5:00 p.m. Friday, with supper starting at 6:00 p.m. Every year, the men enjoy the fellowship, the food, the teaching, and the athletics. Be sure to bring your Bible, a teachable spirit, and a friend. The special speaker will be Evangelist Kevin Brownfield. Checks should be made payable to the Minnesota Baptist Association. Registrations, whether coming from individuals or from churches, should be sent to Bob Johnson, c/o PBBC, 315 S. Grove St., Owatonna, Minnesota, 55060.
Community Baptist Shares “Living Nativity” Community Baptist Church of New Prague shared a "Living Nativity" with the members of its community during the Christmas season. The "Living Nativity" consisted of four scenes. The first scene was indoors and consisted of the prophets Micah and Isaiah sharing the prophecies of the coming Messiah. Scenes two and three were outdoors with the shepherds around a fire sharing the message that God had given them about the birth of the Savior and then leading the visitors to the man-
ger scene where Joseph, Mary and the Baby Jesus were viewed amongst the sheep while a song was played about the purpose of His birth. The visitors were then led indoors where they viewed a music video on the purpose of Christ's coming to this earth from the time of his birth to His glorious return to rule and reign as Victorious King. This was a great opportunity to share the real meaning of Christmas
and the message of salvation with those who participated. A Gospel tract and DVD disc with the message — "WHO IS JESUS?" — was given to each one who attended.
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North Star Update
Parent-Teen Leadership Conference at First Calvary, Inver Grove Heights By: Chris Juvinall The Second Annual Parent-Teen leadership Conference was held at First Calvary Baptist Church. On February 1 and 2, we were privileged to have Mr. Jeff Kahl (Director of Camp CoBeAc in Houghton Lake, MI) join us as the keynote speaker for our Parent-
Teen Leadership Conference. Jeff Kahl focused on the topic of “What does it mean to be a servant leader?” in his three main sessions while local area pastors led workshops dealing with “How can I be a different leader?” This conference was de-
signed for parents and teens alike. For more information, please contact Assistant Pastor, Chris Juvinall at cjuvinall@1stcalvary.com.
2008 TRUTH Weekend at First Calvary, Inver Grove Heights 2008 TRUTH Weekend features a discussion on Progressive Sanctification. First Calvary welcomes Dr. Greg Mazak from Bob Jones University on the weekend of February
29 - March 2 for our 2008 TRUTH Weekend. Dr. Mazak will be answering questions as well as dealing with the issues surrounding the topics of change and growth for the
Christian. For a conference schedule, please visit the First Calvary website at www.1stcalvary.com, or call the church office at 651-4514361.
Grace Baptist, Virginia Begins New Year By: Pastor Todd Williamson As we look at the beginning of a new year of ministry here in Virginia we are focusing on the challenge, “I can and I will be a Light in this Dark World.” The focus of the ministry for this year, based on Matthew 5:13-16, is on being a light each day to those with whom we come in contact. We all know that we can be a light, but our willingness is the emphasis that we are looking at
this year. Over the past month we have had some visitors come through the doors and we are encouraged that some have continued coming. We are working with others to get them back through the doors. We are praying that the Lord would give us wisdom as to how He would have us reach the areas around Virginia. It seems that the conventional methods are
not reaching the people. The Lord has blessed this church with a good group of people. It does not seem possible that it was two years ago this month that I first came to Virginia to fill the pulpit for them. We all are thankful for the support and prayer of the fellow brothers and sisters of the MBA.
Jordan Church Plant News By: Church Planter Daniel Lowe We have been given great opportunities to show mercy to others through our ministry. When Paul opened his letters to Timothy he included mercy along with grace and peace which are words we always see in his other Epistles. Mercy is a gracious act or behavior displayed to others out of compassion or love. Paul wanted this young Pastor to show mercy to those he ministered to. This has been an area that I have been working on over the last two
months. I have been thinking of the scenarios where Timothy needed to show compassion to his flock. Paul mentions that he was one who received mercy (1:12). I need to show compassion by sharing the gospel with others. I need to show mercy to those who despise my youth. I need to show mercy by praying and interceding for governmental leaders. The list goes on and on. Recently I have been praying that God would help me grow in the area of showing
mercy to others by specifically praying the lessons God has shown me in these two letters. Pray for our family that we would be able to grow in this area of displaying mercy to others. God has been showing himself to be faithful through our ministry. We have four new members who are becoming actively involved in the minisContinued on page 4
Volume II, Issue 2
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Spring Ladies Retreat Heritage of Faithfulness Psalm 61:5 March 14-15, 2008 Pillsbury Baptist Bible College Main Speaker: Mrs. Kitty Cribbs Each church should have registration materials. For more information: Suzanne Rogers davezan@juno.com (320) 231-2033)
Granite City Events By: Pastor Dennis Campbell Granite City Baptist seeks to reach out to invite folk to the annual Valentine Banquet on Feb. 15th with guest speaker Pastor Dave Sorensen of Northstar Baptist Church in Duluth. The theme is “Walk in
Love” (Eph. 5:2), and the evening promises a fantastic meal, music, laughter, fellowship, and a solid challenge. Feb. 24th marks the Academy Patriotic Program at 7pm, with a Tribute to America, the
Flag, and the Lord’s Army. The event begins with a heartmoving Color Guard followed by zestful Patriotic music, and a One-act play entitled, “The Investigation” by Bob Snook.
A Note from Pastor Jerry Birkholtz and the people of First Baptist Church, Lakeville Dear MBA friends, I feel it necessary to inform you of our church’s recent decision. On December 30th, we held our last Sunday service at Faith Baptist Church of Lakeville. After having labored here for the past fourteen years, the church came to a conclusion that it was God’s will to disband and to take our gifts
and abilities into other fundamental local churches. We would like to thank the churches in our state association for your prayers and support. Our family plans to remain in Lakeville and wait for the Lord’s leading. I trust that we will be able to resume our fellowship with you as we work together for the sake of the Gospel. I am
available to assist pastors with needs for pulpit supply or special meetings. In His Joyful Service, Pastor Jerry & Beth Birkholz
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MBA Contacts Minnesota Baptist Association Dr. Julian Suarez, President Faith Baptist Church 1365 Westminster St. St. Paul, MN 55130 (651) 771-5567 pastors@frontiernet.net Interim State Missionary Rev. Robert Fuller, St. 1549 118th Lane NW Coon Rapids, MN 55448 (763) 568-4078 rjfsr4@juno.com MBA Office Minnesota Baptist Association PO Box 527 Willmar, MN 56201-0527 Send Contributions to: Mr. Brian Veth, MBA Treasurer c/o Coon Rapids Baptist Church 11164 Hanson Blvd. Coon Rapids, MN 55433 Send Update Articles and Pictures to: drjfjr@comcast.net Or North Star Update Editor 315 S. Payne St. New Ulm, MN 56073
Jordan Church Plant News, continued from page 2 try. One of the individuals helped us create a prayer chain. One couple is teaching Sunday school class for the first time. Another individual is taking part in our evangelism ministry. There have been a couple of instances where our people showed ownership the last two months. It was encouraging for Deborah to go to a ladies event at one of our new members’ houses. Deborah did not have to plan or organize anything for this event. I had a mother come to me to see if we could do a children’s Christmas program. She and the teen girls took it completely. All I had to do was oversee what they were doing.
This was exciting to see not only our adults but also our young people taking ownership of this ministry. This is a result of many prayers. Thank you for praying! We hosted a Christmas Cantata at the High School in Jordan. The Prior Lake Baptist choir came down to Jordan for this event. The family of a church member from Prior Lake Baptist Church came to the program. This member has been saved for over 15 years and has been an active part of that ministry. His family came to the Cantata and probably for the first time heard the Gospel. Pray for the salvation of the
Schmitt family. Deborah has had two great opportunities to witness in December. One lady is a staunch Catholic and is searching. Deborah talked about spiritual matters with her for over an hour one evening. The other opportunity came as Deborah was at our children’s gymnastics class. She talked with this woman for half an hour about how Christ has changed her life. We are looking forward to our charter service on February 10th. If any of you are able to come we would love to have you. Dr. and Mrs. Bud Bierman will be with us for this special service.