Baptisms
 We are always excited about new believers in Jesus and their baptisms. Just installed as the new pastor of Iglesia Bautista Fundamental of Los Angeles In June, Marcelo Bustos had the privilege of baptizing two new believers in July. Sunrise Church also baptized an amazing 71 believers in 2012.
|
Zimmerman Verdict
 | | Greg Surratt |
Greg Surratt is the founding pastor of Seacoast Church in Mt Pleasant, SC, one of the earliest adopters of the multi-site model. Pastor Greg writes that he has been watching with great interest the happenings surrounding the Zimmerman trial and verdict. Read his article on five important things to remember as we respond.
Read the article
|
Great Seminars CB affiliated Calvary Baptist Church in Huntington Beach is hosting two very worthwhile seminars in October presented by Eric Buehrer, President of Gateways to Better Education. Plan now to attend.
Keeping Their Faith in Public Schools
Monday, October 21
7:00 - 8:30pm
Free
Faith, Freedom and Public Schools
How to address the separation of church and state. Learn how to confidently and legally teach about Judeo-Christian history, culture and value in the public schools.
Saturday, October 26
9:00am - 12:30pm
$50
Call 760.345.0355 to register
|
Visiting California
WorldVenture missionaries Doug and Krista Livie dropped by the CB office the other day. They were on their home assignment and had swapped houses with a couple in Upland, just a block from our office. We had a chance to hear about their church plant in France.
|
|
 |
|
|
What is Good
by Pastor Stacey Smith
Fellowship Baptist
Yucaipa
The other day I received a phone call asking me, "Are there any good churches in Yucaipa?" My response was, "What is your definition of good." I've learned this over the years.
Shortly after I came to Yucaipa, a lady called asking about our church, its ministries, programs, etc. She then asked how large we were, and I said we have about 100 members. She said, "Oh you are a new church then." I said, "No, we've been here about 25 years." She then commented, "Oh, then you are not a very good pastor or church."
Sometime later, a man on vacation from out of state commented on what a good pastor I was and that this was a good church. I thanked him, and asked why he thought I was a good pastor. "Because," he said, "you don't have drums in the sanctuary." OK then.
Last year a man was standing outside the church door on Sunday morning. He asked if I was a 5-point Calvinist. I said no, not a 5-point Calvinist. He then commented there are no good pastors or churches in the Inland Empire, from Fontana to Beaumont, from Victorville to Temecula.
So, are you a good pastor? To qualify according to these individuals you must be large in size, with no drums in the Sanctuary, maintaining and preaching the 5 points of Calvinism. So you see why I asked the caller to tell me his definition of good.
But, are you a good pastor? The Bible lays out some guidelines that you could use to determine from God's perspective if you are a good pastor or not. 2 Timothy 4:2 - preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. Notice nothing about size, drums, Calvinism or Arminianism; but a lot about transforming the lives of people God has entrusted into your care. So, hang in there, don't quit, and persevere until the Lord says done.
|
CB Southern California 2520 N. Euclid Avenue Upland, California 91784 info@cbasc.com
|
|
|
 |
Practice Hospitality
 Always be eager to practice hospitality (Romans
12:13). This month my wife Vicki and I have been putting this verse into practice. We had 22 people sleeping in our house at different times during the month of July. Sometimes it was 1 person, other times it was 13, sleeping on beds, couches, blow-up mattresses and the floor. Besides sleepovers, we had many others drop in to visit and talk. It's been fun, and a little tiring. Babies to grandparents. Friends and family. Hot dogs and hamburgers, chips and salsa, playing games, swimming pool, movies and pictures, fixing broken things, constant cleaning, laughter, parties, late nights, long talks, and lack of sleep. It is a good time to practice other things like encouraging one another, patience, love, compassion, forgiveness and more. We also enjoy reading that Jesus told his disciples, "'Let's go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.' He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn't even have time to eat." Mark 6:31. Well, we are back to just the two of us this week. Date night tonight. We haven't had one in three weeks. A balanced life is a good life. When you do both, you appreciate both.
Executive Director
CB Southern California
|
|
Women's Retreats
 The Women are having their TWO retreats in September up at Pine Summit in Big Bear Lake. If you have not signed up, please check out our website for all the information at http://cbasc.com/womens-retreats/.
Women's Retreat (Spanish)
September 20-22
Speaker: Lucy Olalde
Theme: "Fe Oculta o Profunda?"
Women's Retreat (English)
September 27-29
Speaker: Vicki Smith
Theme: "Tweets from God: A Weekend Proverbs"
Music: Ruth Hooper and the Sunrise Band
|
|
Men's Retreat
English
Speaker: Brian Howard
Music: Rusty McKinley and the Praise Band from Calvary Baptist in Bishop, CA
Cost: Deluxe $179 A-Frame Dorms: $129
Spanish
Speaker: Dr. Miguel Darino
Cost: Deluxe $179 A-Frame Dorms: $129
Theme: Construyendo puentes hacia la madurez Cristiana ("Cada hombre, un hombre de Dios")
|
|
New Pastor in Fallbrook
 On July 7, Dr. Rick Koole was voted unanimously to be the next pastor of Fallbrook First Baptist Church. He looks forward to coming to Fallbrook and is also excited to be closer to three of his married children, all who live in Southern California! Rick has been the Senior Pastor of Chapel Pointe of Hudsonville, Michigan since January of 1997, where he saw the church grow from 150 to over 800. He is no stranger to Southern California, pastoring Tri-City church in Vista for many years as well as being the Vice-president of Development for the Masters College. He also served as the Director of Funding at Cornerstone College in Grand Rapids in MI. We are excited to welcome this experienced and very capable leader to Fallbrook FBC and into our association. Jim Smith has enjoyed his time as the Interim pastor with the wonderful and growing congregation at Fallbrook, and looks forward to passing the baton to Rick on September 8.
|
|
New Pastor in Long Beach
 On July 14, Jon Olson received a 91% vote to become the next pastor of Bethany Church in Long Beach. He accepted and will start on August 11. Jon pre viously served as the lead pastor of Crossroads Church in the Portland area. He has served in ministry for nearly 25 years, including serving in a couple of CB churches: Youth Pastor at Twin Lakes Church in Aptos, CA near Santa Cruz; and CB Church Planter in Carlsbad, CA. He earned his Doctorate from George Fox University, Masters of Divinity from Western Seminary, and BA in Communication Studies from San Jose State. In addition to his ministry roles, he has been a radio DJ at commercial stations and has served as a Broadcast Host for Microsoft. Jon is married and has four kids. Welcome back to Southern California, Jon. |
|
New Pastor in Barstow
 Members of Trinity Baptist Church voted unanimously to call Floyd Dorsey to be their new pastor. Pastor Floyd has already found a home to move into and started preaching on July 28. Floyd has previously been a Senior Pastor and most recently served as the Assistant Pastor at the Community Baptist Church in Norwalk. |
|
Exponential Discount
 With our renewed focus on church planting, we have partnered with Exponential to offer deeply discounted tickets for the upcoming debut of Exponential West,
|
|
San Dimas Re-positioning
Prior to becoming Lead Pastor, George Haraksin has served full-time at NewSong Church in San Dimas since 1996. Two years ago, in an amazingly honest evaluation of gifts and strengths, the Elders and former Lead Pastor Dennis Bachman, decided that George would be better suited as the Lead Pastor and Dennis would move to serve as Discipleship & Finance Pastor. Dennis and George changed roles, the voting Partnership confirmed the switch, and many people both inside and outside the church waited to see if such a change would work. The new positions have proven to be a benefit for all involved. In addition to his pastoral role, George also serves as Adjunct Professor in Philosophy & Ethics at Azusa Pacific University and Tozer Theological Seminary at Simpson University in Redding, California. Well-done NewSong.
|
|
Optimizing ObamaCare
Whether you love it or hate it, you've got to understand it! Plan to attend this free seminar presented by Health Insurance Experts and hosted by Missionwell. This event is specifically for nonprofits, religious organizations and churches with fewer than 50 employees.
The seminar will be on Tuesday, September 10 from 12:00 p.m - 2:00 p.m at the La Canada Presbyterian Church Family Life Center in La Canada, CA 91011. Lunch will be available!
|
|
Work Crew Needed
 Many travel across the ocean to help churches on mission trips, but we thought we should also travel a few hours north to help one of our own churches. On September 13-15, CB is assisting our small church in Independence, Sierra Baptist Church, with some of their construction needs. Painting, landscaping and finishing a patio outside of the church would really help bless Pastor Perry White and his wife Sally. If you are willing to help, please contact our CB office at 909-944-5900 or info@cbasc.com. Cost is minimal and the appreciation is great. |
|
New WorldVenture VP
 Dr. Martin Shaw, Jr. has been appointed to the position of Vice-President of International Ministry for WorldVenture starting July 1, 2013. Marty was born in Japan and is the son of missionaries Martin and Arlene Shaw, Sr., who served in Japan for 35 years. Since 2004, Marty has served WorldVenture as the International Ministries Director for Asia and the Pacific region. Based out of Singapore, he oversaw 130 missionaries in 17 countries and was responsible for vision casting, strategy development and implementation, member care and research. He will be based out of WorldVenture's home office in Littleton, Colorado, and is anticipated to help anchor the leadership team with his missiological insights and Kingdom-development experience. |
|
New Sign in Simi Valley
Pastor EdPaul Cuenco of  our CB church in Simi Valley, Christian Fellowship Church, is excited about the attention their growing church received from a car accident that destroyed their church sign. On Sunday afternoons, they rent the Lighthouse Bible Church. It is on busy Cochran Street in Simi Valley. Recently, their church sign was hit by a car, and they didn't have money to fix it. Through some interesting stories, which made it into the local newspaper, they now have a very nice sign to let people know when and where they are meeting. Read the article.
|
|
Thanks for reading our newsletter. We have now identified at least three new church plants to launch next year. We are also working hard on looking at a new name for our growing network of churches.
Thanks for your support.
CB Southern California
|
|
|
The men will also be enjoying their retreat at Pine Summit in Big Bear Lake, sharing the facilities during the weekend of October 11-13. 