North Star Update A PUBLICATION OF THE MINNESOTA BAPTIST ASSOCIATION Inside This Issue: Fellowship Foundations
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GBCA at Student Conv.
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FBC New Ulm Booth
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Upper-Midwest FBF at PBBC
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Morrell to Fourth Baptist
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PBBC Alumni News
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NEW PBBC Placement Service
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Calendar
Volume II, Issue 5
May 5, 2008
Recognition Council at First Baptist, Adrian A council consisting of pastors of independent Baptist churches and a representative of the Minnesota Baptist Association met at First Baptist Church of Adrian, April 15, 2008 to evaluate the documents of the church (i.e. Statement of Faith, Constitution and By-laws, and the Church Covenant). The council was asked to evaluate the church through its documents with respect to the church’s application for formal
fellowship with the MBA. Upon careful examination of the documents, and interaction with Pastor Tim Barr, the council found that First Baptist Church of Adrian is an independent fundamental Baptist church of like faith and order to the churches represented on the council. The members of the Council were: Marcus Moffit, Calvary Baptist Church, Sheldon, IA, (Council Moderator); Robert
Sand Creek Baptist, Jordan Update
Pulpit Supply Update
The ministry of SCBC has been such a blessing to our family. We are seeing teens and children develop their abilities for the Lord. It is a joy to see marriages strengthened and peoples hearts tender to the teaching of God’s word. The greatest joy has been recently leading two individuals to Christ. Paul speaks about the ministry of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19. What a joy it is to bring people back into fellowship with God. One thing that I have learned is that this reconciliation that Paul is referring to is evangelism. We have the “message of reconciliation” which is the Gospel. Reconcilia-
Rev. Roger Edmonds (507) 637-2185
Southwest Missions Conference
May 19-20: PBBC Board on Campus June 23-24: MBA Annual Meeting at Willmar August 4-8: MBA Family Camp
Directory Update The cell phone number for Wayne Erickson, Asst. Pastor First Baptist, Baxter, is (218) 838-9462.
Fuller, Jr., First Baptist Church, New Ulm, MN, (Council Clerk); Rob Adams, Immanuel Baptist Church, Westbrook, MN; Mark Fish, First Baptist Church, Lake Benton, MN; Robert Fuller, Sr., Minnesota Baptist Association, Interim State Missionary; Greg Linscott, First Baptist Church, Marshall, MN; Marvin Pederson, Jeffers Baptist Church, Jeffers, MN; Chad Prigge, Fairmont Baptist Church, Fairmont, MN.
A Round Robin Missions Conference was held March 2-7 in southwestern Minnesota. Three of the participating missionary families are on deputation: Ken and Sharon Crider (Cameroon, W. Africa), Barry and Ellen Farlow (Brazil), and Dan and DeLana Kowach (S.
tion starts with the Gospel message and discipleship strengthens the fellowship bond that we have with our creator. God has blessed us with a great message and we need to share it with others. This ministry has kept us very busy over the last couple of months. We held our Charter Service on February 10th. We were blessed to have Dr. and Mrs. Bierman with us for that special occasion. Dr. Bierman challenged our people from God’s church planting manual the book of Acts. It was encouraging to see how receptive our members were in wanting to carry these principles out in our
Korea). Veteran missionaries Mark and Lynne Massey represented Victory Academy for Boys in Amberg, Wisconsin. Sunday through Tuesday, the missionaries presented their ministries in Jeffers, Lake Benton, Westbrook, and Sheldon, Iowa. Wednesday and Friday,
church body. We have 31 charter members of voting age. It was an exciting day as several from our sending church attended the service. There was a time of fellowship that followed the service and we presented a new pulpit to Prior Lake Baptist Church. A couple of weeks later our membership agreed to become a part of the MBA. We will schedule a recognition council and will be able to join this coming June. God has continued to bless us and we are thankful for all of the prayers and financial support that has been given over the last couple of years.
they spoke in Marshall, Fairmont, Adrian, and Redwood Falls. On Thursday evening, the missionary families and members from all eight churches gathered at Jeffers Baptist for a fellowship banquet.
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North Star Update
Fellowship Foundations By: Rev. It is not too early for pastors and churches to make plans to attend the MBA Annual Meeting at Cornerstone Baptist Church, Willmar, June 23 and 24, Pastor David Rogers. I believe it will be an interesting meeting. New churches will be welcomed into the Association fellowship and some revised directions for the MBA will be presented for consideration and adoption by the Messengers. During April, I was privileged to attend the Pillsbury College Board Meeting on the 7 and 8, and again on the 26. I was also able to attend the rec-
Robert Fuller, Sr. Interim State Missionary
ognition council for the First Baptist Church, Adrian, Pastor Tim Barr, with a good representation of fundamental Baptist Churches. This procedure is part of the entrance of a church desiring participation in the MBA. On Sunday, April 20, my wife and I visited the Morning Service at Sand Creek Baptist, a new church in Jordan, Pastor Dan Lowe. This was our first visit to that church. What an exciting time that was for us! We then visited the Evening Service at Southview Baptist, Richfield, Pastor Jeremy
Stephens. It was exciting to witness the testimonies and baptisms of two young ladies. At the invitation of Pastor Dan French, Rockford Baptist Church, I brought a lesson to the Sunday School, and preached the Morning Message. My wife, Rhoda, had the opportunity to use her piano skills, and I struggled as song leader. We thoroughly enjoy the folks at Rockford, and will be there again in May. If I can serve your church in any way, please let me know.
GCBA at Upper Midwest ACE Student Convention The Granite City Baptist Academy students did a wonderful job in Prior Lake in March at the Accelerated Christian Education Upper Midwest Regional Student Convention. The five students placed third overall in platform events, and received awards as follows: 11 1st place, 12 2nd place, 2 3rd place, 4 4th place, 3 5th place, and 1 8th place (to God be the glory!). The students will continue practicing in preparation for a
mid-May Evangelistic Tour to South Dakota, seeking to minister at churches, schools, reservations, nursing homes, etc. The public is invited to a Fine Arts Program on Sunday May 11 at 6 p.m. The program will include a clown act, dramatic dialogue, expressive reading, famous speech, illustrated story, oratory, poetry recitation,
preaching, vocal trio, and an instrumental duet, trio, and ensemble.
FBC New Ulm Booth and Home Improvement Show First Baptist, New Ulm, had the wonderful opportunity of having a booth at the 2008 Home & Self-Improvement Show held in New Ulm. The show started on Friday, March 28, and ran through Sunday, March 30. The Chamber of Commerce said that a record number of people came out for the show this year. Many of them came by the booth and signed up for a drawing for two donated blankets.
Members of FBC volunteered their time to staff the booth and to speak to those who visited. We were able to share the gospel many times through the use of tracts, creation information, and church information. The church is anticipating having a booth at the Brown County Fair in August. The booth leadership team is busy planning for the next booth. Pray for our staff and this outreach ministry into the commu-
Volume II, Issue 5
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Upper-Midwest FBF Meets at PBBC By: Dr. The Upper Mid-West Fundamental Baptist Fellowship Conference for pastors and laymen was held at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in Owatonna, Minnesota on April 2526. Dr. John Vaughn, President of the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International, was one of the speakers along with Dr. Brad Smith, moderator of the Mid-West Fundamental Baptist Fellowship, and Dr. Bob Crane, President of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College. Pastors, wives, and laymen
were invited from five states. The event began with a dinner for the pastors and their wives on Friday evening. On Saturday there were eleven workshops conducted by the faculty and staff of Pillsbury and two general sessions. PBBC board member Pastor Ron Groschel also presented a workshop. The general sessions and workshops were very informative and inspiring. We also enjoyed a good time of fellowship.
Jack Cribbs
Dr. Brad Smith
Matt Morrell to Assume Pastorate at Fourth Baptist
Pastor Matt Morrell
Fourth Baptist Church is pleased to announce that Pastor Matt Morrell has accepted the call from Fourth Baptist Church to become their next senior pastor. Pastor Morrell comes to Fourth Baptist Church from Chisago Lakes Baptist Church, where he has served as senior pastor since 2002 and assistant pastor beginning in 1998. Pastor Morrell is a graduate of Northland Baptist Bible College and Central Baptist Theological Seminary, and he is cur-
rently pursuing a Doctor of Sacred Ministries degree at Northland Baptist Bible College. Pastor Morrell serves on the boards of Central Baptist Theological Seminary and the Minnesota Baptist Association. He will begin his ministry at Fourth Baptist Church on Sunday, June 1. An installation service is planned for Sunday, June 8, at 3:00 p.m. with a reception following. Friends from area churches are welcome to attend this special service.
PBBC Alumni Report By: Loren Here is a brief report on Alumni activity that we have had so far. Our first banquet was in Faribault, MN. We had roughly 40 in attendance. The second banquet was in Cottage Grove, MN, and we had around 100 in attendance. The third banquet was in Lansdale, PA, where we had 65 in attendance. The next banquet is scheduled for Friday, August 1, 2008 at First Baptist
Church of St. Francis, MN. We hope to have a couple more alumni banquet dates for you shortly. Diane Casey, the alumni secretary is currently working on an alumni directory. We are also working on developing a leadership team for coordinating Pillsbury alumni events. If you are willing to be an alumni coordinator in your church for Pillsbury, please contact Diane
Bjokne
Casey at Pillsbury in the alumni office. We have put a new alumni section on the website that has pictures from the banquets and other events, and the school is working on a placement service ministry for alumni students. A final praise: We had an excellent turn out at the Pillsbury College Play "Cheaper by the Dozen." They had close to a full house all three nights.
Coverage of 2008 PBBC Graduation will be in the June Issue of the Update. Watch for it.
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A PUBLICATION OF THE MINNESOTA BAPTIST ASSOCIATION PO Box 527 Willmar, MN 56201-0527
We’re on the web! http:www.mbaoc.org
MBA Contacts
PBBC Announces New Web-based Placement Service
Minnesota Baptist Association
The Pillsbury Baptist Bible College Placement Service is now readily and easily accessible to churches that would like to make their staff needs known to Pillsbury alumni or current students seeking positions through the service. The Web-based Placement Service . . . • Provides the potential for contact activity 24/7 • Allows users to post descriptive information about staff positions • Allows users to update their information anytime they want 24/7 • Gives church needs maxi-
Dr. Julian Suarez, President Faith Baptist Church 1365 Westminster St. St. Paul, MN 55130 (651) 771-5567 pastors@fbcstpaul.org 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
mum exposure to employment candidates • Matches church needs with candidate interests automatically • Provides contact information for employment candidates To utilize this service, churches need to “register” on the Placement Service page on the PBBC website (www.pillsbury.edu). The Placement Service page is readily accessed by utilizing the “Placement Service” Link located on the Home Page. After registering the first time, churches simply log in to access their accounts on succes-
sive visits. Once activated, a church’s account will remain active for 90 days unless the church chooses to delete its account sooner. Accounts may be renewed by emailing: placement@pillsbury.edu. This internet service will be of great assistance to churches, making it easier for them to fill their staff vacancies with well-trained and qualified Pillsbury graduates or students. It will take a while for interested candidates to build the database. Please check frequently as potential employees become aware of and utilize this service.
DON’T FORGET! MBA Annual Meeting in Willmar, June 23-24 And MBA Family Camp, Woman Lake near Longville, August 4-8