CALLING ALL ADULTS WITH A HEART FOR YOUTH

ATTENTION:
CALLING ALL ADULTS
WITH A HEART FOR YOUTH

Whether you are on the Youth Committee, volunteer as an Adult Leader, participate in the Van or Bus Ministry, serve in the Ministry of Technology, lead in the Worship Ministry, have children in the Youth, or are simply interested in plugging in to the BCBC Youth, you are invited to an Open-Door Youth Meeting, to be held on JULY 18th, at 8:00pm (Follows Sunday Evening Service)

WE WANT YOU to know that we appreciate your involvement with the ongoing youth ministry, and would love to invite all who have a passion for supporting this ministry have an opportunity to become involved.

There’s more to the Youth Ministry than just youth lock-ins, van driving, worship team, and preaching – we have all kinds of ways in which you can lead and serve our future generations. My prayer is that everyone, young or old, who has any interaction with the youth group, would have opportunities to know our Lord, grow in that knowledge of His love, and show it in the community he or she lives in. So please, come and share your prayers, presence, gifts, or service with us!

- Many Blessings!
- Benji Van Fleet

Lessons learned from Mountain Community Fellowship.

During our Thursday Night share time, former Bruner's Chapel member and deacon Bill Mills shared with us a passage that has been central to the practice of Mountain Community Fellowship. 

1 Peter 4:7-9 (NLT)
⁷ The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. ⁸ Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹ Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

1) Specify your prayers. (“Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers”)

Mountain Community is a church that is centered on prayer. The five elders of the church meet weekly to pray about the needs of the church, and prayer is not just “tacked on” in their meetings, often times it is central. As they prayed weekly for God to provide for their needs, we heard story after story of God’s miraculous faithfulness to their church.

One neat story on prayer was when pastor Jason Hutchinson was without a church and was praying to plant a church in Paintsville. When he drove to the KBC training, he prayed the whole way there and prayed when he got into his hotel room. He prayed when he woke up in the morning and then prayed on his drive to the KBC building. The first word he heard when he walked into the building was “Paintsville” as two men were discussing building a church in the town but needed a pastor.  

2) Show deep love for each other (“Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins”)

We were all blown away by how much the church loved each other! It was visible, it was felt, and it was real. Even though I am not a hugger, I was hugged a dozen times during the Sunday morning greeting by the elder ladies of the church. Everyone felt welcome and loved! Goth people, tattooed people, drug addicts, atheists, and even a self-proclaimed vampire were in attendance. No one was judged for the clothes they wore or for how dirty they were.

3) Share your home (“Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.”)

All of the leadership of Mountain Community Fellowship practiced an exemplary hospitality. They would each share stories of the various people they had opened their homes to so that they could get back on their feet. Bill Mills told us, “My house is God’s house, and if He wants to use it to build His kingdom, so be it.” He also said, “I used to think that being a Christian meant that if someone needed a place to stay, I would get them a hotel room and fulfill my Christian duty. God’s word says to share my home.” How easily could we share our homes with those who need it?

May God bless Mountain Community Fellowship, and may we learn from their example!

- Bro. Dave

Announcements and Gregory of Nazianzus

Keep praying for our mission team this week that God will bless our outreaches and service. There will be a mission trip report time on Sunday Night at 7PM with photos and testimonies of our trip.

Get ready for some block parties for Vacation Bible School during the week of July the 4th. We will do 2 block parties that week on Tuesday Night and Wednesday Night from 6-8PM and they will be held at The Curry residence on Merriman Ave. and at the Projects. Please be in prayer for us as we invite children to our Vacation Bible School and share our faith with the community.

With the space I have left I would like to share an interesting quote from the past. In studying church history this past week I came across a writing of Gregory of Nazianzus, who lived from A.D. 329-89. There are some who have claimed that the church did not recognize (or as some skeptics claim “invent the idea”) that Jesus was God until about the 5th century A.D.

Gregory wrote long before such claims and observed the mystery of how Jesus was both human and also God:

“Jesus was baptized as Man— but He remitted sins as God…
He was tempted as Man, but He conquered as God…
He hungered— but He fed thousands…
He thirsted— but He cried, If anyone thirst, let him come unto Me and drink…
He was wearied, but He is the Rest of them that are weary and heavy laden…
He was heavy with sleep, but He walked lightly over the sea…
He prays, but He hears prayer…
He weeps, but He causes tears to cease…
He asks where Lazarus was laid, for He was Man; but He raises Lazarus, for He was God…
He is sold for a cheap thirty pieces of silver; but He redeems the world at the great price of His own blood.
As a sheep He is led to the slaughter, but He is the Shepherd of Israel, and now of the whole world.
As a Lamb He is silent, yet He is the Word…
He is bruised and wounded, but He heals every disease and every infirmity.
He is lifted up and nailed to the Tree, but by the Tree of Life He restores us;
He dies, but He gives life, and by His death destroys death.
He is buried, but He rises again…”

May God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit bless us in our spiritual growth this week!

 - Bro. Dave

Benji's Blogspot

       You know, it’s funny how we can sometimes react to the gifts that God has given to us. We have such a loving Lord that sees our needs, and meets them better than we could ever accomplish alone. Yet somehow we aren’t always satisfied with the gift- we see opportunities for more, and miss the blessing altogether. I think we could all learn a lesson from the hungry crowd in Matthew.

Check out the cartoon – thousands of people in Matthew were so poor and hungry that “…He was moved with compassion…” (Matt.14:14) for them, and fed them in abundance. Jesus saw they wanted Him, and they were in need of Him. They followed Him, because they knew what He had to offer was worth it all. Their faith in Jesus took them wherever He went. No one was attracted to Jesus’ teaching by a “FREE MASSIVE DINNER” sign – that wasn’t anywhere on anyone’s agenda. Sure the thousands of people were hungry, but they were hungry for Jesus more than for food.

I think this is what Jesus was telling the Disciples to feed the crowd with – the gospel. Still, the disciples didn’t understand the ‘hunger’ in the sense Jesus did. He saw the crowd with His heart, and they saw the crowd with their stomach. So, Jesus gave to the crowd in a way the Disciples could get the picture; in His compassionate action, Jesus basically said, ‘These people will only be satisfied by what I can give them, and I will give as no one else can – only me.’

So, the next time we find ourselves saying, “Yeah, it would have been better if,” just remember how hungry you were when you were ‘going without’ altogether. Then, take time to thank Him in prayer, worship, with a grateful heart.

Welcome Benji and The Great Commission Resurgence

I am excited to welcome Benji Van Fleet to Bruner's Chapel Baptist Church!  I want to encourage the church to keep Benji in your prayers as he works with our students. I pray that God blesses Benji with a fruitful ministry to our students!

I am writing this article from Orlando where we will be voting in a few minutes on the Great Commission Resurgence. Since there has been some confusion over the GCR, I would like to bring some clarity to the issue. The following are the seven reccomendations of the Great Commision Resurgence summarized: 

1. Getting the Mission Right

SUMMARY: In the first recommendation, the Task Force encourages the Convention to adopt the following mission statement: As a convention of churches, our missional vision is to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world and to make disciples of all the nations.

2. Making Our Values Transparent

SUMMARY: The Task Force recommends that Southern Baptists seek a healthy culture within the Convention by committing to the following core values: Christ-likeness, Truth, Unity, Relationships, Trust, Future, Local Church, Kingdom.

3. Celebrating and Empowering Great Commission Giving

SUMMARY: The Task Force affirms the Cooperative Program as the central means of mobilizing our churches and extending our reach. The Task Force also encourages Southern Baptists to celebrate the total dollar amount given to Southern Baptist causes (such as the Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong offerings) . Churches will report “Great Commission Giving” by recording their gifts through the Cooperative Program as well as their gifts to other Southern Baptist causes.

4. Reaching North America

SUMMARY: The Task Force recommends that the North American Mission Board (NAMB) prioritize church planting in metropolitan areas and among under-served people groups. Currently, 2/3 of CP dollars are directed to 1/3 of the population. In order to penetrate the lostness in other areas of North America, the Cooperative Agreements between NAMB and the state conventions should be phased out within seven years so as to free up NAMB for a new pattern of strategic partnership and effectiveness in church planting.

5. Reaching Unreached and Underserved People Groups within North America

SUMMARY: The Task Force recommends that the IMB be free to focus on underserved people groups wherever they may be found. Since large numbers of many of these people groups now reside in U.S. cities, the IMB should be free to work alongside NAMB in utilizing its linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to penetrate the lostness among these people groups, regardless of geographical location.

6. Promoting the Cooperative Program and Elevating Stewardship

SUMMARY: The Task Force recommends that responsibility of promoting the Cooperative Program among local churches be transferred from the Executive Committee to the state conventions. The Executive Committee would work with the state conventions in developing a strategy for encouraging churches to increase participation and giving to the Cooperative Program.

7. The Call of the Nations and the SBC Allocation Budget

SUMMARY: Currently, 50% of all Cooperative Program funds received by the Southern Baptist Convention go to the IMB. The Task Force recommends that the Convention increase this number to 51% by decreasing by 1% the budget for Facilitating Ministries. The purpose of this reallocation is to make a statement about the need to reduce denominational infrastructure and strengthen our commitment to reach the nations.

May God guide the leadership of our convention to greater effectiveness towards fulfilling the Great Commission.

- Bro. Dave

Mountain Community Fellowship Mission Trip Update

There have been some changes to our upcoming mission trip that I need to report. We are now going to be leaving for Mountain Community Fellowship on Tuesday afternoon, June 22 at 4PM and returning to the church on Sunday afternoon, June 27 around 4PM. We have made this adjustment to satisfy the desire of the leadership and members of Mountain Community that we worship with them on Sunday Morning, June 27.

Mountain Community Fellowship has purchased a building in an amazing area for outreach. Bruner’s Chapel Baptist Church will be the first church to help them begin renovations and outreach to their neighboring community. There is a list of needs that we will be helping out with as we go to Mountain Community Fellowship:

A Back-yard Bible Club to reach the children and families in the neighborhood.

A Saturday community-wide festival outreach with inflatiables and food.

Landscaping Needs.

Wall Removal and replacement needs.

Deck Work.

Framing and Hanging Sheetrock.

Plumbing – Laying a 100 foot copper line and setting up a water heater.

If you can help us with any of these needs – please join us for this life-changing mission trip! Also, if you can only join us for a few days or for only one day – please let me know so that we can make arrangements for you.

Mountain Community Fellowship has been regarded as one of the greatest church plants in the state of Kentucky during the last five years. Its health and growth has encouraged more church plants and has helped in the training of new church planters. What a joy it is to know that we have partnered with them in the expansion of God’s kingdom in Eastern Kentucky!

Please pray for our team for safety and for God’s blessings as we share the Gospel with the neighbors of Mountain Community Fellowship.

May God bless us as we continue to be on mission!

-          Bro. Dave

The Biblical Ethics of Military Service

As we have observed Memorial day this week, I have often been asked what I think about Christians serving in the military and whether it is ethical or not. In honor of our veterans, I would like to post a response that has been well stated by pastor Kevin DeYoung:

1. Being a soldier is not a sub-Christian activity. In Luke 3, John the Baptist warns the people to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. The crowds respond favorably to his message and ask him, “What then shall we do?” John tells the rich man to share his tunics, the tax collectors to collect only what belongs to them, and the soldiers to stop their extortion. If ever there was a time to tell the soldiers that true repentance meant resigning from the army, surely this was the time. And yet, John does not tell them that they must give up soldier-work to bear fruit, only that they need to be honest soldiers. The Centurion is even held up by Jesus as the best example of faith he’s seen in Israel (Luke 7:9). Military service, when executed with integrity and in the Spirit of God, is a suitable vocation for the people of God.

2. The life of a soldier can demonstrate the highest Christian virtues. While it’s true that our movies sometimes go too far in glamorizing war, this is only the case because there have been many heroics acts in the history of war suitable for our admiration. Soldiers in battle are called on to show courage, daring, service, shrewdness, endurance, hard work, faith, and obedience. These virtues fall into the “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just” category that deserve our praise (Philippians 4:8).

3. Military service is one of the most common metaphors in the New Testament to describe the Christian life. We are to fight the good fight, put on the armor of God, and serve as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. When we remember the sacrifice, single-minded dedication, and discipline involved in the life of a soldier, we are calling to mind what we are supposed to be like as Christians in service to Christ.

Thank you service men and women for all you have done for our church, our families, and our nation! You are our true heroes and we esteem you each in the highest honor!

May God continue to bless our nation and may He bless and protect our servicemen and women!

-          Bro. Dave

The Mark and Wendy Sendoff

I would like to thank everyone for your help in congratulating Mark and Wendy Whitaker on their service here at Bruner’s Chapel Baptist Church! We had a wonderful fellowship Sunday Night and enjoyed hearing about what God is doing in their lives. Be in prayer for Mark and Wendy as they transition into their new ministry in Alabama, and pray for our church as we begin the search for a new music minister. Thank you Mark for your service and may God bless you!