The Evangel

CTMT 2009 - Ministering to Appalachia

2009-06-25T15:55:08Z

The theme for the 2009 Chapel Choir Mission Tour was "At Our Core" and sought to put into practice First Baptist Nashville's core values. These values had "at their core" the message of Hope found in Jesus which was beautifully expressed by our students in song, word, and deed.

Our primary mission field was the Appalachian region of Eastern Kentucky where a portion of our efforts were designed to assist a local church planter in starting a new work. We were engaged in presenting concerts at two nursing homes and for a group of individuals with some unique personal challenges. Our students also effectively led Vacation Bible School at an apartment complex and completed neighborhood surveys in support of the anticipated new church start. The tour concluded with the opportunity to lead in worship at Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, and for our First Baptist Nashville Family.

The 2009 Chapel Choir Mission Tour was a life-changing, mission-minded experience our students will never forget. Please continue to pray that the seeds we planted and the fruit we were able to harvest will flourish in the days and years ahead. Thank you for your prayers and support which have enabled us to have an eternal impact in the lives of others. Our lives were profoundly impacted through the exciting music, missions, and ministry adventures we encountered. Soli Deo Gloria!

FREEDOM

2009-06-25T15:50:18Z

The Truth Will Free You - Jesus

Share Freedom's Story at Flags, Franks, and Fireworks! Come and share your story of freedom with those who gather downtown for the grand July 4th festivities and celebration.
Share Freedom's story through a Freedom Street Team or the Hospitality Team. The street teams will interact with people on the streets in the downtown business district and along Riverfront Park. Each conversation becomes an opportunity to share your personal story of freedom in Christ. The hospitality teams will serve as hosts at First Baptist. These teams will greet people passing by with face painting, balloons, hot dogs and snow cones, as well as invite people to take a moment for refreshments and conversation on the church campus.
The afternoon begins with a cookout, training and prayer at 4:30 p.m. on the Patio of the East Building. You may register online or by emailing Scott Allen at scott.allen@firstbaptistnashville.org.

Frank and to the Point

2009-06-25T15:48:26Z

I can't thank you enough for the gift of some time away. I'm about halfway through with the allotted time you have provided for a Personal Enrichment Leave as I write this, and so far it's been a rich and meaningful time. It was actually "jump-started" with a week in Atlanta for this year's Festival of Homiletics. Barbara Brown Taylor, a crowd favorite, was on the program again this year and jokingly referred to the event as the annual preaching contest (she wasn't that far off). Her sermon "Red Words Written in Red Clay" and Fred Craddock's sermon "Words Written from a Red Roof Inn" were appropriate bookends to a wonderful week filled with preaching workshops, great music, and time to think about my preaching ministry. I hope you will be able to tell the difference after I'm back! (By the way, we are hosting the Festival again next year at First Baptist.)

The remainder of my time away will be filled with times to relax and experience some inner quiet. I attended a prayer retreat that was instructive and inspirational and have already begun incorporating some of what I learned. I look forward to sharing more with you once I return. It's all been very timely and needed. Thank you again for providing sabbatical time for your ministers.

The month of July begins with a great outreach opportunity for us as our Building Bridges team leads us in this year's Fourth of July event downtown. I plan to be there and look forward to joining with you as we celebrate our nation's independence and seek to make a few hundred new friends downtown! It should be a fun day. Following that we'll join together in worship on Sunday, July 5, focusing our hearts on the biblical theme, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

I'll see you then!

What You Might Not Know About Deacons

2009-06-25T15:46:42Z

We, the congregation, will soon be involved in the process of nominating and electing 15 new deacons to serve a four-year term. Do you ever wonder what deacons do at First Baptist Church? Deacons Meeting is scheduled for the first Monday of each month. Deacons gather for a meal and a meeting--they hear reports, make suggestions, pray for needs, and consider the health of the congregation. You guessed that--right?

However, you may not know what the deacons do on an ongoing basis. Take a typical Sunday. You are in your pew and the worship service begins with baptism. The deacon Baptism Committee members are in the dressing rooms encouraging and assisting the candidates as they enter and exit the baptismal pool. The deacon Building Security Committee folk are walking the halls of our facilities and are stationed at the main entrance to ensure the security of the congregation. They may encounter an individual or family who will need the aid of the deacon Benevolence Committee today or some time in the future.

As the service progresses, an offering is received. The individuals coordinating this process are members of the deacon Offering Committee. The service may also include the ordinance of Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper Committee prepares the elements, and additional deacons come forward and serve these elements when Pastor Frank moves to this part of the service.

When the invitation is given, you may hear the testimony of a person who feels called to ministry and plans to attend seminary. The deacon Seminary Student Assistance Committee pays extra attention to what is being said, knowing they may soon be providing some financial support and encouragement to this person as well as our other seminary students.

Members of the deacon Doorway Ministry stand at the various sanctuary exit points to greet members and guests as they leave the worship service. You may also have noticed the activity at the Welcome Center after the service. Coordinators of the deacon Doorstep Ministry have designated deacons to deliver packets of information and materials to the first-time guests who shared their contact information.

As you ponder those individuals to nominate and vote for, consider your choice serving on one of these deacon committees. Now you know

Family Plus

2009-06-25T15:43:08Z

As we look back after rearing children and seeing the family expand to grandchildren, family is the dearest thing to us. Through joys and trials, good times and bad, family gives meaning to life as nothing else can, outside of our relationship to God. Thanks to nurturing and caring parents of our own, we have continued that legacy of love. Did it just happen? Is our family the result of chance? How did we manage to get this far? There had to be plusses along the way that helped us. One plus has been the family of faith at First Baptist Nashville.

One dictionary defines family as "a group of people united and tied together by certain convictions." That describes our faith family here at First Baptist, united by the conviction that God is real and that faith in Christ is central. From that comes love and support that outsiders find hard to understand.

People in this church--friends, pastors, teachers, and music leaders--have been the plus that has added riches to our family life. We have rejoiced together in a wedding service, prayed for help, cried when grandchildren have been dedicated, and supported when concerns have been part of our walk. We have watched as children left for youth camps, went on mission trips, sang during choir trips, and laughed together at basketball games. And we have experienced joy as our grandchildren have gone to Bible drills, participated in lock-ins, left on camping ventures, and participated in choir-mission adventures. We have listened as our granddaughter sang from the steps of the sanctuary with Miss Martha and our minds returned to the time when our own children sang with Miss Martha, on the very same steps.

The faith family at First Baptist has been, and continues to be, the plus in our family. Could we have done it without them? Not with the same results. Not with the joy and richness that comes from faith itself.

Every family needs a plus as it grows. We thank God for the impact of First Baptist in our family's life and development. It continues to be a God-given plus for us.

Pray for Camp '09

2009-06-25T15:29:46Z

Our students appreciate your prayers as they head to camp June 28 - July 3
at Ridgecrest. Our theme for Camp 09 is Move: The Faith Journey, and we'll be focusing on the life of Moses.

Pray that our students will embrace a different kind of camp experience a t a new location this year.
Pray that students who don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will come to know Him as their Savior.
Pray that students who are already Christ-followers will be challenged to move closer to God.
Pray that all of our students and leaders will learn from Moses' experiences and respond to God's unique call in their lives.

Staff Announcement

2009-06-25T15:27:15Z

Communications Specialist Rebekah Weber has resigned to move to Philadelphia to begin her life with her soon-to-be husband.

Joining the staff is Laura Meriwether, a life-long member of FBC. Laura recently graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in Communications, Journalism and
Electronic Media.

FBC Goes to Canada

2009-06-25T15:25:33Z

In July, two groups from First Baptist will travel to Canada to do mission work as part of the continuing partnership our church has with Atlantic Coastal Canadian Baptists.

Members of the first group, which will arrive in Maine on July 4, include Sharon Roberts, Aubrey and Diane Parish, and Bill and Mary Todd Young. The group will be working with Border Baptist Fellowship, which serves communities surrounding Calais, Maine and St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada.

Members of the second group, which will arrive in New Brunswick, Canada, on July 11, include Diane Parish, Sherry Hunter, Helen Owens, Chey Korvandi and Charlie Doggett. The team will teach an adapted version of Lifeway's Boomerang Express at Camp Bar None, a residential camp for children and youth.

Please pray for these groups as they travel and spread God's word.

Rapid Response Team Think Tank

2009-06-25T15:23:47Z

Attention Medical Professionals
Join us on Sunday, June 28, in the Chapel at noon. We'll meet to discuss the needs of a Rapid Response Team (RRT) to provide care to the members of our church. Your input is valuable!

Contact: Jason Jean, jason.jean@vanderbilt.edu

Pray for Wales

2009-06-25T13:39:04Z

The Class of 2009 would appreciate your prayers as they minister in Pwllheli in North Wales from July 9 - 19. The team will be working with missionaries David and Krista Ruark to show God's love in practical ways in the community. The seniors will participate in prayer walks, beach clean-up, school assemblies, sports, and "hanging out" ministries as they seek opportunities to engage people in spiritual conversations. Pray that the seeds the seniors will sow in Wales will bear much fruit.
Members of the Senior International Mission Team include Alexia Boggs, Nadia Bryson, Hannah Cates, Nathan Foust, Rachel Freeny, Bryan Hartzell, Adriana Marquina, Katy McCoy, Kassie Pollard, Anne Grace Robertson, Hannah Rodriguez, Chaney Swiney, Craig Wilcox, and sponsors Adam Clark, Heather Clark and Tambi Swiney.

Pastor Frank Returns July 5

2009-06-23T16:16:39Z

Join us Sunday, July 5 during our morning worship service as Pastor Frank returns to the pulpit. Keeping with the patriotic theme of the service, the pastor will speak about the need for spiritual renewal in our country in a sermon titled "Blessed is the Nation Whose God is the Lord" based on Psalm 33:1-22.
And stay tuned for a new sermon series set to start July 12!

Student Camp 2009 Blog

2009-06-23T13:50:42Z

Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary Mission Trip

2009-06-11T15:27:40Z

July 25 - August 2, 2009

Join us on a light construction and maintenance at the Southern Baptist Seminary located in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada. We will be doing work the staff does not have enough time to do. Light work in the office or library will be waiting for those unable to do the heavier, more physical tasks. There is a wonderful view of the Canadian Rocky Mountains from the campus. We do take time to get a close-up look at some of God's creation while we are there. If you are interested, contact Fred Turner at 665-0284 or
papagg@comcast.net.

Family Mission Trip 2009

2009-06-11T15:22:43Z

August 6 - 9 approximately 30 members of our congregation representing eight families will participate in the third annual Family Mission Trip to Elizabethton, Tennessee. In recent years this trip has provided an opportunity for families of all ages and stages in life to join together for three days of teaching, ministry and service to needy individuals in the mountains of Upper East Tennessee. Our efforts this year will include conducting backyard Bible clubs, visiting local nursing homes, and working in the food pantry and clothes closet of Hale Community Ministries which is an outreach of the Watauga Baptist Association. During the day, there will be opportunities for school-aged children, teenagers, couples, singles and senior adults to live out the Gospel that we are all called to share. In the evenings, our group will gather for fellowship and devotions to discuss our work together.

As the date for our trip approaches we will be collecting school supplies to take with us for the children we will be teaching in the Bible clubs. Please begin to collect paper, pens, scissors and other school supplies. We will welcome the participation of our children's' missions groups in this effort.

Thank you, First Baptist, for the chance to follow through on our call to love God and love people together. If you have questions about the trip or would like to know more about how to support it, please contact Jason or Elizabeth Rogers at jasonandelizabeth@comcast.net or 665-7363.

Frank and to the Point

2009-06-11T15:22:32Z