We would be happy to add you to our postal service Newsletter Mailing list--just give your address to the church office or email office@fsbcrawlins.org.
January 2012
Our annual DREAM SUNDAY is January 8. Following the morning worship service the church will gather for a dinner (the first use and DEDICATION of our new kitchen) and then meet for a Dream Session. Dream Session is a “brainstorming” time in which we dream of what God would have us accomplish during the next year and beyond. No dream is too outlandish, as God delights in taking us into the unknown. In dreaming, we will consider:
- What does God desire?
- What are the community needs?
- What does He require of His people?
At the end of our dreaming time we will have come up with a list of ministries and activities that we will focus on over the next year.
Have you picked up your 2012 POCKET CALENDAR yet? The book includes 2012 church information—our Annual Calendar and 2012 Budget, and is available for all adults.
The annual Wyoming Southern Baptist EVANGELISM CONFERENCE is January 23-24 in Wheatland. You will be blessed to attend; more information is on the bulletin board.
Since January has a fifth Sunday, our FIFTH SUNDAY SING, including a carry-in supper, will be January 29.
Pastor Dave will be out of the office January 18-27 to attend a national Disaster Relief Conference and training (and take some vacation time).
Most of our internal facility remodeling has been completed, with a refurbished ENTRYWAY, an enlarged FELLOWSHIP HALL, and an amazingly beautiful and functional KITCHEN. Some of the work was done professionally, but a lot has been accomplished by our own church family. To those who have played a part in this work, THANK YOU! God deserves our best, and you have helped create a facility that will honor God in ministry for years to come.
We are seeking volunteers or nominations for two committees:
HISPANIC CHURCH COMMITTEE. We are starting a new Spanish language church in Rawlins.
PASTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE. This committee is tasked with the work of seeking a pastor candidate to present to the church after Pastor Dave’s retirement.
If you would like to serve on either committee, please contact the office.
David Kinnaman, coauthor of the book unChristian, explains that “the problem of young adults dropping out of church life is particularly urgent because most churches work best for ‘traditional’ young adults—those whose life journeys and life questions are normal and conventional. But most young adults no longer follow the typical path of leaving home, getting an education, finding a job, getting married and having kids—all before the age of 30. These life events are being delayed, reordered, and sometimes pushed completely off the radar among today’s young adults.
“Consequently, churches are not prepared to handle the ‘new normal.’ Instead, church leaders are most comfortable working with young, married adults, especially those with children. However, the world for young adults is changing in significant ways, such as their remarkable access to the world and worldviews via technology, their alienation from various institutions, and their skepticism toward external sources of authority, including Christianity and the Bible.”
The research points to two opposite, but equally dangerous responses by faith leaders and parents: either catering to or minimizing the concerns of the next generation.
“However,” Kinnaman continues, “cultivating intergenerational relationships is one of the most important ways in which effective faith communities are developing flourishing faith in both young and old. In many churches, this means changing the metaphor from simply passing the baton to the next generation to a more functional, biblical picture of a body—that is, the entire community of faith, across the entire lifespan, working together to fulfill God’s purposes.”
God has placed us here to reach our community—whoever they might be. Thank you for living for Him, that we might reach some!
Rejoicing,
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
