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| It's summer time!
For some of us that means gardening, softball, picnics, trips to the beach, some time out of the office, a break from school, maybe a roadtrip.
It also means it's intermission time for BVBCNews. Our next issue will be the September issue. If you have information you'd like us to include, the deadline is August 20.If you take a
short-term mission trip, let us know if you'd like to write about your
experience. If you get involved in a Third Saturday project, let us
know what it's like. And if you have other ideas for ways to help us
connect with each other -- send 'em over!
Send us a message by clicking on the "Write To Us!" quick link on the blue bar to the left of this column. Have a great summer. We hope to hear from you! |
Members approve $2.2 million
budget for Fiscal Year 2010
By voice vote, BVBC members on May 31 approved the Board of Deacons' recommended budget for Fiscal Year 2010. The $2.2 million budget represents a 9 percent increase over 2009, with construction-related facilities and debt service representing all of the increase.
It was the second budget meeting of the month. The first -- held May 14 -- fell about 20 people short of a quorum.
The 2010 budget includes no salary increases for staff and no increase in ministry expenditures. Missions-related ministry accounts for about 23 percent of the non-capital budget.
At the May 14 meeting, Deacon Board Chairman Bruce Gordon noted the impact of the global economic crisis on the church and its members. Some have lost jobs and/or income. No one knew the economy would take such a turn, he said. He expressed confidence that wise decisions, increased giving by those able to do so and church growth all would help to fill the financial gaps. If not, further adjustments would be necessary.
He praised the staff for keeping spending in line with giving in 2009.
"I can't emphasize enough the great staff we have and their ability to go through the roller-coaster ride they've gone through over the last 24 months," the Deacon Chairman said. "When you see them, tell them how much you appreciate them."
He also saluted the work of the Finance Committee, led by Lanny Weaver.
Many challenges remain, Bruce Gordon said.
"This does require us to pray and to seek Him and His guidance, and we need to do that more than ever," he said.
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| From the Pastoral Staff
This Month:
Karl Nockengost, associate pastor (singles & small groups)
Passion for community
becomes vision for ministry
When I was 20, I became involved with the Navigators, an
evangelical Christian organization on college campuses. When I graduated, I
didn't join the Navigators staff. Instead, I was determined to join a church
and get involved. I found a great one in the town I moved to -- one  that had
ministries I could serve in and a singles ministry I could grow in. I found a
mentor, a small group of men, and a community of people who helped me develop
my faith and serve God.
This experience helped lead me to singles ministry. I
realized that I had started well out of college and grew spiritually throughout
my twenties. That time laid a foundation for my life and I wanted to see other
people have the same experience. I wanted to have God use me to build that
foundation in other people's lives. I have had a great experience at BVBC with Kairos and the singles who have come through that
ministry.
When I was 29, I answered God's call to full time
ministry. While at seminary, I prayed for a vision for ministry. God led me to
look hard at the subject of community and what it meant to build community in
churches and in our world.
I became convinced in seminary that only the church
could provide the community needed in such a fragmented world. I spent the last
two years of my seminary experience pursuing professors who shared that vision.
My passion for community led me to small groups, this great vehicle for
building community not only in churches, but in the world around us as well.
Watching small groups grow here at BVBC and watching people change, develop
ministries and reach out with their groups has been a fulfillment of the vision
God gave me almost 20 years ago.
Pastor Karl Nockengost
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BVBC's softball team takes
commanding league lead
The roster is deep, the bats
are strong, the arms and gloves solid. Brian Carroll, coach of BVBC's softball
team, can shuffle his lineup with confidence - and striking success.
At presstime, the team was
undefeated after five games. The team has scored 90 runs, while allowing just 32.
"We don't have a weak link
in our lineup," said Brian, who has attended BVBC for 10 years and works as a field
operations manager for a market research company in Newtown Square, Pa. "When
we play other teams, we think about their first five or six hitters as being
dangerous. But game to game, we can invert our lineup for the sake of getting
everybody as many repetitions as we can. I can look at batters 1-11 from last
week and just reverse it for next week."
About 14 players are on the
roster and the team plays a 12-game regular season. The playoffs last for about
a week in July. BVBC won the league title in 2002 and 2005 and was the
runner-up in 2006 and 2007. Others in the seven-team league include Elam
Methodist, Emmanuel, Chester Bethel (defending champion), Trinity, St. Paul's, and
Aldersgate.
A core group - including
Brian (shown in the baseball card above), Tim Cura, Mitch Ruoff, Mike McGinniss and Jan Murray - has played on
BVBC's team for years, Brian said. And Craig Montgomery delivered a Cal Ripken
Jr.-like stretch of 70 consecutive games over a six-year period.
Right-handers Jan Murray (seen in photo below) and
Mark Horne are the team's pitchers.
"Both do a terrific job,"
Brian said. "When we won the championship [2005], Jan had fewer runs allowed
than innings pitched. And in slow-pitch softball, that's unheard of."
Brian said every roster
player who shows up for a game will play.
"If 16 players show up, we'll
bat all 16," he said. "We don't just use the nine on the field that given
moment. Teams and umpires know that and they marvel at that."
At the end of the 2008
season, six BVBC hitters had batting averages that topped .600, according to
statistics kept by Jan Murray. Jan also keeps schedules, detailed game recaps,
baseball-card data on players, photo galleries and other team news on an information-packed Web site. You can
check it out by clicking here.
Brian works with Russ Booth
of Elam Methodist Church
to coordinate the league's schedules, hire umpires and arrange fields. Usually,
games are played at Elam's
field on Smithbridge Road
just off U.S. 202 or at Canby Park West in Wilmington.
The team has had female players,
Brian said, though no women are on the roster this year.
Players enjoy getting to know each other, Brian said, and a post-season picnic often is held. The team usually starts taking shape in November for the next season's play. New players are welcome, he said.
Fan attendance has been
solid, he said, with families and friends bringing their kids and enjoying an
evening together outside.
The games can get intense,
but players remember what is most important, Brian said.
"One church had a mission
trip fall right around playoffs," he said. "We told them, 'we're not going to
play without you. We'll just wait for Trinity to come home and we'll finish the
tournament then. We want to play, we want to win, but if we kick a team out for
doing a mission trip? Come on. There's something bigger we're trying to
accomplish."
Others on the roster include:
Mike Carroll, Dave Kibler,
Eugene Liauw, Justin Mullin, Mike O'Hara, Tim Singer, and Matt Wells.
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BVBC considers offering
faith-based English program
Imagine moving far from home to settle in a place where you don't know the language. Not only is the culture completely unfamiliar, you can't even communicate with your neighbors. Life suddenly becomes quite frightening and lonely. This is the reality for many internationals who live in our area.
Some at BVBC have prayed about how to reach out to our international community and Dianna Shatley, director
of Missions Ministries, said the church is thinking about offering a
faith-based English as a Second Language (ESL) program to
internationals.
On May 1 and 2, Jan
Nelson came to BVBC to talk about how to put together a church-based ESL program. Jan teaches a faith-based ESL program in Maryland, and she is
affiliated with North American Missions. She shared various teaching techniques, common cultural
misunderstandings, cross-cultural issues, and how to express one's faith through
an ESL program.
The faith component is a natural expression of such instruction when it is offered by a church community, Dianna said, and participants know that when they sign up.
Lisa Grimsley was one
of 18 individuals who attended the seminar. Lisa teaches ESL to both
children and adults, and she is excited about the possibility of an ESL
program at Brandywine. She said BVBC's location along a public bus route makes it easy for internationals to get to our church. In
addition, she hopes an ESL program may spin off into prayer groups,
fellowship, and Bible studies. Ultimately, Lisa sees ESL as an opportunity not
only to teach internationals English, but also to be a witness to Christ.
BVBC will offer
another ESL training program in the near future. If you are interested in
becoming a teacher for a faith-based ESL ministry, or if you are planning to go
overseas on a short-term mission program, this ESL seminar will help you along
the way. Contact Dianna Shatley for more information.
Lynn Wilson
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Delaware Youth for Christ
honors BVBC's Rob Townsend
BVBC has long supported the ministry of Delaware Youth for Christ, a 51-year-old effort to reach young people in Delaware. But one member was recognized for distinguished service at YFC's recent annual banquet. There, YFC Board Chairman Greg Ballance noted the four decades of contributions Rob Townsend  has made to the ministry. Among other things, the chairman noted these: - Rob is on the ministry's board of directors and has served multiple terms as board chairman. He also has served as a volunteer in the youth center, as a trustee and an advisory board member.
- Rob has mentored kids and worked to develop resources for YFC, helping to raise more than $1 million to support its work. He created the Wendy Townsend Besche
Events Scholarship, which pays for youth center students to attend
YFC events throughout the year.
- Rob raised money to fund YFC scholarships to help promising young students through college.
"Moreover," the chairman said, "he has been a mentor not
only to young people, but a mentor to the YFC staff, executive directors, to me
and the other board members." |
Media team's mission:
Get the message through
Three dedicated teams are at work each Sunday to help BVBC get its message out on a variety of media -- including audio, video and visual media platforms. Podcasts of sermons, for example, are available for download on BVBC's Web site in both video and audio-only formats. No need to worry about missing a sermon while you
are traveling. You can now access our archive 24/7 via the Internet. (You can click here to reach BVBC's Web site, then click the "play"
icon (on the right) to hear or watch last week's sermon. Click "Archive" for older sermons.) Sermons
are typically posted two or three days after they are preached.
Behind the scenes are three teams who are also an integral part of Sunday worship: the sound, video
and visual media teams.  The 20-plus members of these teams (including Matt Douglas in the photo on the left) provide a Sunday
service in which the pastor and musicians and vocalists can be heard, song lyrics
and other on-screen videos can be seen, and sermon recording or other video
production is done. In the photo below are team members Christine Ruoff and David Kershner.  Team members in the photo below include (left to right): David Kelley, Rob Elkins, Mei-Ling Johnson, and Jim Glendinning.  The teams are looking for more volunteers. No previous experience is necessary (training will be provided), but some
basic skills are helpful.
Required skills include: * Sound: Good musical ear and a willingness to
learn audio technology * Video: Basic knowledge of cameras and
photography, video camera experience is a plus * Visual media: Basic knowledge of computer
software, previous experience with Powerpoint a plus If you are interested in learning more about these teams please send an e-mail to the leader of the team you are interested in by clicking on the appropriate name below: Sound - Bill Ebbott
Video - Tom LappVisual Media - Christy McAllister
Christy McAllister
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'Night of Music' provides
venue for BVBC artists
It may come as no surprise that many talented musicians call BVBC "home." Some gladly share their talents with us on any given Sunday during worship. Some share their talents only rarely. Some may feel there is no "stage" on which to play. And some wanted a night of fun and entertainment to bring several generations together in one venue.
With all of that in mind, several of us in BVBC's music ministry put together such an event last summer -- our first Night of Music. On that August evening, we had BVBC's own "June Bugs" (who are shown in the photograph below) and some friends from Willowdale Community Church in Unionville, Pa. About 50 people attended. 
In March, we had our second Night of Music. We were able to get the June Bugs again, plus Carla Nienhuis, Beyond Yesterday, and the Merediths from Willowdale. About twice as many people turned out for that evening, and many urged us to do it again. So we will! Come celebrate summer with us from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 20, as we host "A Night of Music, A Collection of Friends." Is there someone you'd like to see perform? Join us for "open mic" time. For more information, call Sam Stein at the church office, (302) 478-4255. Tom Hopkins |
New alignment sharpens focus for young couples, families
Brandywine
Valley will strengthen its
ministry to young couples and families with expanded opportunities and a new series of classes starting this month.
Young Family Life (YFL), a new ministry
to families with young children, is designed to include families until their youngest child finishes kindergarten. The group will be led by Jim and P hoebe Bosma (shown in the photo to the right), with mentors Bob and Lynn Soplop.
Young Married Life (YML) returns to
its original focus -- ministering to young married couples, primarily
those without children. The group will be led by Creighton and Jenny Anderson (shown in the photo to the left)  with mentors Mike and Jan Skipper.
Both ministries begin new classes in mid-June,
studying "Modern Parables," a video series by Cinematic Theology, for the
summer.
Each group will include classes on Sunday mornings, small
groups, and social activities.
In the fall, both YML and YFL will expand to two Sunday classes.
Young Married Life will include one group for those in their first year of
marriage and one group that will study topics. Young Family Life will offer one class for parents of infants through the
first year of life; the other class will study topics, including Bible studies
and parenting.
Additional mentor couples are welcome and both ministries are looking for others to join their leadership teams. If you are
interested in mentoring or helping in leadership, contact Pastor Karl Nockengost at karlnockengost@bvbcnet.org.
Brenda Wilson
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Belief in money myths
can add up to financial trouble
Editor's note: BVBC member Don Rowe, author of this article, is a certified Dave Ramsey financial counselor. He will teach a 13-week course on money management this fall using Ramsey's  curriculum. Watch for registration details.
Myth: "Ninety days same as cash" equals using other people's
money for free.
Truth: Ninety days is not the same as cash.
Have you ever wondered why companies sell their products
with flashy interest-free promotions? First, if they are offering 90 days
interest-free, the price you are paying is not a discounted one. If you offer
cash up front you may be able to get a discount. If not, go somewhere that will
give you one. Second, most people don't pay off the debt in the allotted time.
Nationally, 88 percent of these contracts lapse into debt. The interest rate is
usually in the 24 to 38 percent range and they back-charge you to the date of
purchase. Third, remember you are dealing with people who take advantage of
uninformed consumers on a daily basis and if you are not careful you will end
up owing more than the price of the original purchase. You may be saying "I
will pay it off in less than 90 days."But think of it this way: if you were buying a $1,000 stereo and you let
your money sit in a savings account for the 90 days, at 3 percent you would have
earned only $7.50 in interest.Is that
$7.50 worth the risk of forgetting to pay on time or having an unscrupulous
salesman rip you off?
Don Rowe
(Adapted from Dave Ramsey's "The Total Money Makeover")
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'Summer Sampler' serves up solid teaching in informal style Adult classes don't stop for the summer -- we just change
our style to a more informal, breezy approach!
"Summer Sampler" starts at 10 a.m. on June
21 and continues for the next 12 weeks. It's a great way to not only
get to know some of BVBC's finest teachers (some you might not have heard because
you were in another class) and hear some fascinating subjects, but also find
yourself growing in your knowledge of the Christian faith.
Topics covered in
the past have included: studies in end times; leading like Jesus; expositional
Bible studies, great people of the Bible; pointed applications of how to live
the Christian life; and much more.
A special feature of Summer Sampler focuses
on having BVBC-supported missionaries provide in-depth observations of not only
their particular ministry experiences but gripping descriptions of how the
Spirit of God is changing lives around the world. The
topics might bounce around from week to week and the speakers will change, but we
won't bore you!
Keep the learning juices flowing this summer at "Summer
Sampler." See you there!
Pastor Mark Smith
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Women of Faith explore
impact of faith on life
It's ba-a-a-a-ack! And, as in years past, we expect many BVBC women will want to participate in the Women of Faith Conference, "It's a Grand New Day," in September.
The conference, which is open to women of all ages, will focus on the walk of faith and how it can impact women's lives.
It will be held Friday evening and all day Saturday on the weekend of Sept. 18-19 at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center.
Group registration rates are $75. Two other options are available: a box lunch for Saturday ($8) and a T-shirt ($15).Registration forms will be available starting June 7 at McCrery Auditorium and outside the gymnasium. Full payment is required at the time of registration. Fees are not refundable. |
Dozens add their muscle to 'Work Day' projects
More than two dozen people came out Saturday, May 30 to give a day of work to the church.
The team repaired, scraped, primed and painted 45 windows,
pressure washed another 20 windows, weeded and cleaned 10 islands in the parking
lot.
Alex Bourdon, a member of the Board of Deacons who coordinated the effort, sent this message to the work team:
"The speed and quality of your work was absolutely amazing and makes a huge
difference in the appearance of our church. All was done in great fellowship and
to the glory of God. Thank you
all and God bless you!"
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Coming this summer ...
* June 7-28 -- Ticket sales for Women of Faith conference (Sept. 18-19 at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center). Registration: $75.
* Saturday, June 20 -- "A Night of Music, A Collection of Friends," at BVBC, 7-10 p.m.
* July 27-31 -- Vacation Bible School, 9 to noon, for children who have completed kindergarten through fourth grade. Free. Sign up now at the Children's Welcome Center or online by clicking here.
* Saturday, Aug. 22 -- BVBC Night at Blue Rocks Stadium. The Boys will sing the National Anthem and there will be fireworks after the game. BVBC has a block of tickets. Watch for details in Ministry News on how to get yours and join us!
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Our Mission
To introduce people to Jesus Christ and help them to follow him.
Our Vision
To be a community of Christ-followers, known by our love:
- Engaging our God in heartfelt worship
- Engaging our community with compassion
- Engaging our culture with gracious discernment
Our Values
- Being devoted to Christ
- Pursing holiness without being self-righteous
- Practicing generous Christian orthodoxy
- Building relationships
- Working together
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BVBCNews is produced by:
Brandywine Valley Baptist Church
Office of Assimilation & Communication
Brenda Wilson, director
(302) 478-4255 |
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