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E-Challenge September 2015
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| Greetings! |
We have seen trouble in our country this summer like nothing I remember since the 1960s. It would be easy to list all the problems and call to mind our collective grief, righteous indignation, and fiery preaching points. We could invoke our favorite politicians. We have a more important role.
Let's work toward solutions that honor God and build our communities.
One of the powerful tools of Church Unique is the Kingdom Concept. This is the "simple, clear, 'big idea' that defines how your church will glorify God and make disciples," (Church Unique). This is what sets your church apart from ten thousand others. It answers questions like, "What is our greatest opportunity to have an impact on the kingdom?" It is your church's sweet spot.
The Kingdom Concept involves three ideas. The first is Apostolic Esprit. This answers the question, "What particular focus most energizes and animates our leadership?" This takes into consideration spiritual gifts, strengths, personality, leadership style, and focused compassion on a particular social concern, target area, or people group.
Apostolic Esprit is discovered through questions like these:
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What one thing bothers you most about the world?
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If you knew you couldn't fail, what one thing would you pursue for God?
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What do you tend to pray for most?
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What gives you energy?
The next idea is the Local Predicament. It answers the question, "What are the unique needs and opportunities where God has placed us?" This takes into consideration the specific challenges of your community. It is about understanding the soil where God has called you to serve.
Local Predicament is discovered through questions like these:
- What area of our community is the furthest from the utopia God wants to restore?What special opportunities are found within our immediate sphere of influence?
- What burning issues are in the public eye?
- What are the largest community events and what needs or opportunities do they create?
The third idea is the Collective Potential. It answers the question,"What are the unique resources and capabilities that God brings together in us?" This takes into consideration the spiritual gifts, training and education, shared experiences, and financial capabilities of our churches. Collective Potential is discovered through questions like these: -
What do guests say they like best about our church?
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What would our community miss if our church was immediately uprooted from the community?
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How would local pastors or denominational leaders describe the strengths of our church?
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What is the biggest impact our church has made in the community?
Our individual churches cannot change the whole wide world. However, God never intended for us to attempt that. We need to work together to accomplish what we cannot do alone. That is an antiquated worldview called "cooperation." It makes churches, associations, conventions, agencies, institutions, and mission boards stronger.
God placed us in our churches in our communities to serve as salt and light. If the world is dark and tasteless around us, perhaps the problem is not our poor government or sick culture, but instead the huddled masses within our church walls. Let's discover the Kingdom Concepts of our local churches and follow God's direction in carrying out Great Commission and Great Commandment ministry in those unique contexts.
What does your church do better than ten thousand others? What difference does it make in your community? Let's start setting our world aright in our little corner and then move on into whatever territory God extends us into.
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Special Giving Opportunity - North Texas Giving Day
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Thank you for being a part of the Tarrant Baptist family. Please join us this year for the North Texas Giving Day, September 17 from 6:00 a.m. to midnight. Your contributions make a meaningful difference in empowering and training catalysts who will share Christ in all areas of society.
Your gifts given on September 17 will help provide extra funding to expand our work. Every gift of $25 or more will be supplemented by "bonus funds" that are available through the Communities Foundation of Texas. Your giving also makes TBA eligible for additional cash prizes that will be awarded throughout the day. |
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Pastors' Conference and Executive Board
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Pastors' Conference and Executive Board Schedule
Summer is over and Pastors' Conference begins on Mondays starting September 14.
Pastors, retired pastors, staff members and lay leaders are invited to participate.
We hope to see you there!
Location:
Cornerstone Assistance Network
3500 Noble Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76111
Time:
11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Cost:
$7.00 for lunch
September 14 - Pastors' Conference: Speaker, James McGilveary
September 21 - EXECUTIVE BOARD
September 28 - Pastors' Conference: Speaker, Larry Ashlock
October 5 - Pastor's Conference: Speaker, Tom Echols
October 12 - Pastor's Conference: Speaker, Mateo Rendon
October 19 - EXECUTIVE BOARD
October 26 - Pastor's Conference: Speaker, Tom Howe
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Tarrant, Texas, the U.S and the Uttermost Parts of the Earth! - Jay Harris
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In Acts 1:8 Jesus commands us to be his witnesses. He addresses the spectrum of our witness by giving us the picture of ever-increasing, concentric circles; our hometown, state, nation and world. One way that you as an individual or you as a church can invest in Christ's witness in the visual mentioned is to invest in a new church start, and do it in each one of your concentric circles!
Later this month, Troy Wolfe (The Movement Church), Kevin Barke (Fellowship Church) and I will be traveling to Seattle to meet with church planters, pastor and denominational leaders from Vancouver, BC for our second (of four) re:Focus Retreats. We will be pouring into these amazing pastors and leaders, helping them discover the awesome catalysts God has created them to be. Through this networking, there are opportunities for you to connect with and help support these new church starts.
Here is the challenge: Prayerfully consider connecting with a new church start in Tarrant County, as well as one in Texas, one within the US and one in another country. We can help you discover these possibilities with relationships we have established in each of the circles of impact.
Let's talk!
- Jay
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Hearing God Retreat
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The next Hearing God Retreat is November 2-3 at Riverbend Retreat Center. The retreat will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Monday and end at noon on Tuesday. The cost is $50 and includes a private room, dinner and breakfast.
This is a retreat. You will have two large blocks of time to spend with the Lord, sleeping and/or taking a walk. You will be guided through some Bible readings and other readings to help you connect with the Lord.
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Life Change Journey for Pastors and Staff
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Life Change Journey for Pastors and Staff
Want to experience a life change journey designed just for pastors, staff and leaders? This is not like any other discipleship conference you have experienced. This is a time you can refresh yourself in a hands-on experiential-type of journey. Here are some of the things you will experience:
- A safe environment
- Time for reflection
- Time to spend reading the Bible and reflecting on your relationship with Christ
- Authentic facilitators who let you discover your own way
- Prayers offered over you
- Laughter and fun
- A few stretching and challenging activities
- Time to hear God speaking just to you
- A renewed excitement and expectation about what God is doing in your life
The next re:FOCUS journey will start Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. on October 25 and end at noon on Tuesday, October 27 at the Riverbend Retreat Center. Each retreat time is unique and will focus on different aspects to help empower leaders.
Retreat #1 - Leaders will spend time re:Connecting with God and with peers in an experiential learning environment. This time will include alone time with God enhancing their dependence on the Father and time to make friends with peers that are both authentic and safe.
Retreat # 2 - Six months later leaders will come back together to re:Discover who God has made them to be. They will spend time exploring things about themselves and formulating their own personal mission statements.
Retreat #3 - In another six months leaders will re:Think what it means to be a disciple. They will explore passages of scripture and write their own definition of a disciple. They will gain a clear picture of what this disciple looks like and how they personally will help others grow to be a fully devoted follower of Christ.
Retreat #4 - The final retreat six months later will focus on re:Engaging with God in His Kingdom. How has God created me to be most effective personally on engaging others? What is He nudging me to do? How do I most effectively lead myself and others?
Between these retreat weeks leaders will meet together monthly to encourage and pray for each other. Interested? If so, contact Becky Biser at becky@tarrantbaptist.org. Sign up today! Date: October 25-27, 2015 (Begin Sunday evening at 6:00 and ending at Tuesday at noon) Cost: $125 each retreat (includes lodging, meals, snacks, books and other materials) Duration: 4 retreats over 2 years Register Here! |
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Church Giving Record
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Please find below the budget receipts giving from the member churches of Tarrant Baptist Association
for the month of July 2015, YTD 2015 and Calendar Year 2014 for comparison purposes.
We are grateful for the faithful contributions made by the churches that allow us to do so much more together.
If you have any questions regarding this listing,
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Coach and Be Coached! - Jay Harris
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You have been hearing about the coaching experience. It has impacted all of your TBA staff. David, Becky, Gary and Jay are all certified coaches with the International Coach Federation and are faculty with Coaching4Clergy. In August, in the Catalyst Room at the TBA, the staff led a week-long training that provided attendees from Tarrant and across the nation 40 hours of Professional Coach Training. March 28 through April 1 of 2016 will be the next TBA sponsored Professional Coach Training. Check it out!
Another special offering in the coaching experience is the ability for you as part of the Tarrant Association to avail yourself to be coached. You can receive a Laser Coaching session, (a 20-minute session) once a month at no cost. Simply call the TBA and reserve a time and a coach. Laser Coaching will help you manage time and focus, prioritize, brainstorm possibilities, get unstuck and much more.
Give it a try! Call today---817.0927.1911 ext 0.
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App of the Month - Fitbit
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 I started wearing a wristband that tracked my steps and sleep a little over a year-and-half ago. That appliance died unceremoniously shortly after its first birthday. A few months later, I was gifted with a Fitbit Charge. It tracks my steps, sleep, and serves as my watch. This is especially handy since all of my other watches have stopped and I'm too busy (or too cheap) to go have them repaired. The Fitbit Charge tells me on the wristband, in order, the time, my current number of steps for the day, how many miles that translates into, how many calories I have burned, and how many staircases I have climbed. It also awakens me each weekday at 5 AM. (Feel free to choose your own starting time or none at all.)
The app on my iPhone, iPad, and laptop provides even more information. It can track exercise, calories eaten, water intake, quality of sleep, etc. This is a cool tool. My Bride and our Baby Girl also wear Fitbit wristbands. We are able to encourage one another and hold one another accountable through linking our results.
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Podcast
of the Month - Thom Rainer
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Thom Rainer is president and CEO of Lifeway and author of I Am a Church Member, Autopsy of a Dead Church, and Simple Church, among others. He is an engaging communicator.
His podcast, Rainer on Leadership, is worth listening to regularly. The current episode is about getting guests to fill out information cards. How can you follow up on guests if they don't tell you how to contact them? This podcast has several great suggestions that you might not have considered.
Good Insight: Ask for first name and email address only on your guest information card.
A previous episode was entitled, What's the Big Deal with Church Committees? Dr. Rainer goes beyond renaming them to ministry teams to discuss how to make the most of those meetings.
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Book Review - Vanishing Grace
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 I had a long day last week as I drove to Galveston County and back. Ten hours in a car gives a person plenty of time to think, pray, and listen to podcasts and books. I listened to Philip Yancey's Vanishing Grace: What Ever Happened to the Good News?.
You probably know of or have read his What's So Amazing about Grace? If not, place it near the top of your book pile. In fact, if his name is on it, read it.
Yancey described himself once as a professional brooder. He ponders ideas deeply. Then he writes clearly. Vanishing Grace is a book for our time. This summer of our discontent and this election cycle create a perfect learning lab for the exercise of grace. Wouldn't it be something if a year from now Christians were known much more for what we are for than for what we are against? (Read chapter 12, Uneasy Partners: Christians and Politics for good insights.) Our world, as Yancey notes, is "athirst for grace." Let us become radical grace dispensers. May we, as Bill Hybels likes to say, "err on the side of grace."
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Gary Crowell - 10 Truths About a Generosity Lifestyle
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This article is about going through life's journey practicing a generosity lifestyle. It is about facing each day with open hands ready to give rather than clenched fists. It is about honoring God and blessing others as a source from which we receive tremendous blessing.
There are a number of truths that we need to take note of when we talk about the generosity lifestyle:
1) The generous lifestyle in a church congregation is first and foremost modeled in both word and deed by the pastor, staff and other leadership of the church. The church leadership approaches giving from the standpoint of "let us all give together to what God is doing" and not just encouraging church members to give without any apparent buy-in by those in visible roles of leadership.
2) Successful giving churches do not emphasize raising money. They have sound discipleship strategies that naturally lead members to a generosity lifestyle.
3) We must educate those we lead to have a Christ-centered financial view. Many people do not give simply because they do not fully understand the biblical imperative. Stewardship training is essential if this reality is to change.
4) People must have margin in their finances if they are to live the generosity lifestyle. Those who are saddled by debt with no savings have much more of a challenge when it comes to being able to be faithful in giving to God's work.
5) Churches that find ways to say "thank you" to givers are those that see more consistent giving patterns from a broader spectrum of the church.
6) The churches that have the most involved generous donors are those that have a written biblical generosity strategy. They have a plan for inspiring people to practice a generosity lifestyle.
7) Congregations that regularly get to hear the stories of how their funds are being used to advance God's work have a much greater tendency to participate in a meaningful way.
8) Maximizing giving in the church setting in today's world requires a generational approach that provides alternatives for members to give in ways that fit their preferences. This may include options such as bank drafts, giving kiosks, online giving, etc. Many times the will to give is present but the best mode is not in place to take advantage of the capacity and desire to do so.
9) A generosity lifestyle makes the possibility of gifts other than cash a probability. Stocks, bonds, real estate, life insurance policies, bequests in wills, charitable remainder trusts, etc. become part of the vocabulary of the church membership.
10) Practicing a generosity lifestyle in giving is not just a head attitude; it is an attitude of the heart.
Gary L. Crowell, CPA, CCA, ACC
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| Bi-Vocational/Smaller Church Fellowship | |
Bi-Vocation/Smaller Church Fellowship
Join us in welcoming the newly elected officers for 2015-2016
President: Tom Echols, Eagles Wing First Vice-President: Darrel Auvenshine, South Side City Church Second Vice-President: James Ball, Belmont Park Praise & Prayer Chaplain: Pete Cunniff, Oakwood Baptist Music Leader/Newsletter Editor: Linda Dunn, Ridgecrest Baptist
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| Training Opportunity for WMU Groups |
WMU Training Opportunity
Tarrant Baptist Association Woman's Missionary Union recommends a brand-new website developed by national WMU for leadership training. Currently available online training is for leading WMU Churchwide, Women on Mission, Acteens, Girls in Action, Mission Friends, and getting to know Christian Women's/Men's Job Corps, as well as a Leadership Certificate Program and Leadership Enrichment course. Cost is $20 each. Go to www.ChristianLeaderLearning.com for more information and to get started.
More course offerings will be available at the same site during this Fall of 2015, and additional courses will be offered in 2016. Also, training will be available at the annual meeting in April 2016. Information will be released later.
We regret that the statewide trainings last month were cancelled due to low registrations. But, this is a great time to respond to this new training availability online. Please help us get the word out!
Thank you very much.
Inez Stephens, Director
Tarrant Association WMU
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| Folding Machine | |
TBA has a folding machine in our office that we would like to give away to a church.
It is a Duplo Corporation machine, Model #DF-520.
Please contact our office if your church is interested.
817-927-1911 or frontdesk@tarrantbaptist.org
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Riverbend's 9th Annual Golf Classic
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9th Annual Fish Fry Golf Classic
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
4-Man Scramble Golf Tournament
(Register a team or individually)
Registration: 9:30 am
Shotgun Start: 11:00 am
Squaw Valley Golf Course, Glen Rose
Great Prizes, good food and fellowship and all going for a great cause - improvements at Riverbend! We will be limited to the first 144 golfers. Others will be placed on a waiting list, and if we get enough, Squaw Valley will open up the second course.
Click Here to download the Registration Brochure. 
Tournament Fees
- $80 per person if registered before September 1st
- $90 per person on or after September 1st
Registration includes: Tournament Entry, lunch, cap or visor, player "goody bag", eligibility for other prizes and Fish Fry meal and program!
Promotions
- Early Bird registrants, before September 1st, will be in a drawing for a Sky Caddie Range Finder.
- Church with most participants will receive an overnight staff retreat in Lenamon Lodge.
- Retreat includes meals and up to 8 green fees to Squaw Valley Golf Course.
- All players becoming a "Friend of the Bend" and donating at least $100 will be placed in a drawing for a great prize!
Prizes
- Closest to pin
- Longest Drive
- Putting Contest for $100 - back by popular demand
- All players are eligible for great prize drawings.
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Riverbend's 48th Annual Men's Fish Fry
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BGCT Upcoming Events
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Seasoned Saints & Family 2015 Conference : September 19th, Community Missionary
Baptist Church
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Worship Summit - Rick Muchow
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with SPECIAL GUEST
Rick Muchow
Worship Pastor at Saddleback Church for 25 years
September 22, 2015
Wayland Baptist University, Plainview
or
September 24, 2015
Trinity Baptist Church, San Antonio
COST $30 per person includes lunch
CO-SPONSORED BY
Wayland Baptist University and the Baptist General Convention of Texas
REGISTRATION & INFORMATION
NOW AVAILABLE
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SBTC Upcoming Events
|  Literacy Connexus Cross Cultural Witnessing: September 11th, Arlington, TX Literacy Connexus Basic Pronunciation: September 12th, Arlington, TX Confident Christianity Conference: September 18-19, Arlington, TX |
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Literary Connexus
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On the weekend of September 11 and 12th, we have two TEX trainings for new teachers of all levels of adult ESL students scheduled for Grace Community Church, Arlington, TX.(That's just six weeks away.)
Cross Cultural Witnessing Friday, September 11th, 2015 6:30 pm - 9:00 p.m.
Basic Pronunciation Saturday, September 12th, 2015 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
The number of participants is restricted, so encourage your new/prospective teachers to make their reservations ASAP. More information can be found on the Literary Connexus website.
Please contact us at 817-696-9898 for more information or email us at info@literacyconnexus.org.
Lester Meriweather, Executive Director |
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| SBTC Children & Preschool |
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Hope your summer went well and fall kickoff gets off to a great start! Look forward to connecting with you at one of the following upcoming training opportunities.
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PRESCHOOL/CHILDREN NETWORK
The Preschool/Children Network is designed for preschool and children's ministers seeking to expand their ministries and connect with others in their fields. This regional network will provide access to recognized leaders in the field of childhood ministries. Sessions will include a chance for equipping, networking, and Q & A around key topics. Upcoming dates:
-October 1 - MacArthur Blvd Baptist Church, Irving
For more details and to register:
SAFEGUARDING CONFERENCE
The Safeguarding Church Ministry Conference is focused on sexual abuse awareness and prevention in the church. This conference is in conjunction with MinistrySafe, which provides Sexual Abuse Awareness Training, Skillful Screening Training, sample policies and procedures, application forms, reference check forms, interview forms and other instructional documents.
Please take the necessary steps needed to safeguard the future generations of the church by attending one of these upcoming conferences:
-September 24, 2015 - Flint Baptist Church, Tyler
-October 8, 2015 - Hyde Park Baptist Church, Austin
For additional information and to register:
HEART OF THE CHILD CONFERENCE
Childhood ministry associates from Texas, Arkansas, Kansas-Nebraska, Louisiana and Oklahoma have been planning and preparing for two years for this event. Sessions are provided for volunteers and children workers in every age group from birth to sixth grade. Special areas such as music, Bible skills, Church Weekday, family ministry and conferences for ministers are all part of the mix.
April 22-23, 2016
Broken Arrow, OK
Preregister by March 15, 2016 for best available rate!
Additional information and registration:
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 My contact information is:
Emily Smith
Children's Ministries Associate
Church Ministries Department
Southern Baptists of Texas Convention
PO Box 1988
Grapevine, TX 76099-1988
817-953-7282
esmith@sbtexas.com
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This email is made possible through your Cooperative Program giving.
Copyright © 2013 Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you are serving in children's ministry of a
church affiliated with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
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Arlington Leaders - Payday Lending Reform Community Sessions
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Payday and Auto-Title Lending:
Community Action & Alternatives
Including remarks by:
Very Rev. Daniel Kelley
September 28, 2015
1:30pm to 3:00pm
St. Joseph Catholic Church
1927 SW Green Oaks Blvd
Arlington, TX 76017
Inviting community leaders, charitable providers, and elected officials to a community forum and strategy dialogue concerning payday and auto-title loans in our community. We will identify the impact of payday lending, explore lending alternatives and discuss how Arlington can best engage on this issue in the coming months.
For more information, click on the Payday Lending link below.
Hosted by CLC and other local partners.
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Read 2 Win!
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Dear Read2Win Volunteer,
Over the past two years local churches have partnered together to send over 800 volunteers into the local elementary schools to invest personally into the future of the children in the Fort Worth ISD. This is one of the best ways to make a difference long term in your immediate community. Teachers, parents, and principals have raved about your impact on the culture of our schools.
We are excited to announce that we have a new professionally developed 28 week lesson plan that makes Read2Win easier, more exciting, and more engaging than ever. We hope you will join us this year as we seek to partner with 40 elementary schools.
We want to ask you to do a few things:
1. Choose a date and location below to receive training. (All volunteers need to be trained on the new lesson plans)
2. Invite a family member, friend, or another church member to join you this year for Read2Win.3. Register your group (CLICK HERE)for a training date.
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| Great Commission Research Network - Annual Conference |
2015 Annual Conference of The Great Commission Research Network Location: Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX Riley Conference Center
Topics: Multisite Churches, The Relevance of Donald McGavran's Teachings in the Twenty-First Century, Effective Evangelism
Dates: Thursday and Friday, October 1-2
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Late Registration: Begins at 1:00pm on Thursday, Refreshments & Networking
Lodging:
Conference Pricing: GCRN Member $109, Non-member $139, Spouse $79, Student $39
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Dr. Leo Day, Musician
Dr. Charles Arn, Visiting Professor of Outreach for Wesley Seminary
Nelson Searcy, Founder of ChurchLeaderInsights.com, Lead Pastor of The Journey Church
Jim Tomberlin, Founder and Senior Strategist for MultiSite Solutions
Dr. Bill Day, Professor of Evangelism and Church Health at New Orleans Baptist Seminary
Dr. Gary McIntosh, Professor of Christian Ministry & Leadership at Talbot Seminary
Nathan Lorick, Director of Evangelism for Southern Baptists of Texas Convention
Dr. John Mark Yeats, Dean of Midwestern College in Kansas City
Dr. Art McPhee, Professor of Evangelism and Practical Theology at Asbury Seminary
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MinistrySafe Child Safety Workshop
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Save the Date!
Child Safety Workshop
About the Workshop:
A comprehensive training that covers the WHY, the WHAT and the HOW of creating a safety system to protect children and those who serve them.
Welcome: churches, schools, camps, non-profits and youth sport organizations.
Workshop Sponsors:
MinistrySafe, Gateway Church, Philadelphia Insurance Companies
Time and Location:
September 29, 2015
9:00am -12:30pm
Gateway Church - North FW Campus
4209 Basswood Blvd.
Fort Worth, TX
For more information: Contact the MinistrySafe Team: admin@ministrysafe.com or 817-737-7233
REGISTER HERE!
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| Prisoners' Families in Your Community |
FACT: 2.7 million
children have a parent in prison.
Prisoners' childre
n live in the shadows, shamed and disadvantaged by their parent's crim
es. With help from Prison Fellowship, you can d
eliver Christmas gifts and the Gospel to prisoners' children.
Wonder how many children who have parents in prisons live in your community? See the zip code listing below. This represents households with children who have a parent or parents in prison. There can be up to six children in each home.
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76001 - 33
76002 - 38
76006 - 29
76010 - 110
76011 - 42
76012 - 48
76013 - 32
76014 - 75
76015 - 26
76016 - 16
76017 - 37
76018 - 41
Azle
76020 - 33
Bedford
76021 - 11
76022 - 13
76095 - 11
Burleson
76028 - 68
Colleyville 76034 - 3
Crowley 76036 - 22
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Euless
76039 - 43
76040 - 38
Everman
76140 - 143
Fort Worth
76102 - 48
76103 - 57
76104 - 124
76105 - 153
76106 - 136
76107 - 55
76108 - 56
76109 - 7
76110 - 77
76111 - 42
76112 - 107
76114 - 60
76115 - 80
76116 - 102
76117 - 67
76118 - 20
76119 - 217
76120 - 39
76123 - 45
76124 - 103
76126 - 28
76131 - 32
76132 - 19
76133 - 122
76134 - 84
76137 - 36
76162 - 121
76164 - 82
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Grapevine
76051 - 11
76099 - 11
Haslet
76052 - 5
Hurst
76053 - 15
76054 - 10
Keller
76244 - 14
76148 - 10
Kennedale
76060 - 11
Lake Worth
76135 - 43
Mansfield
76063 - 30
North Richland Hills
76180 - 36
Saginaw
76179 - 35
Southlake
76092 - 3
Watauga
76148 - 38
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Churches, Bible study groups, Sunday School classes and families are invited to help a child in your community this Christmas. Sign up here.
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Explore God
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Cast the Vision
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Explore God creates credible content for people with spiritual questions and curiosities about God, faith, religion, and purpose. Who has those? Seems like just about everybody-including us. Now is the time to tell your congregation about Explore God and let them know what's ahead.
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Leadership Checklist
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Here are five tips to help your church or ministry get excited about the Explore God DFW Community Outreach Initiative!
- Play a Video.
Show this video during your church gathering or distribute it via e-mail. Check out these other promotional videos that you can use as well.
- Cast the Vision.
Tell your members why your church has chosen to participate in the movement. Share with them about the goals of the initiative:
To unite the Church in inviting the surrounding community to explore God
To promote the initiative with cutting-edge marketing and advertising
To train Christians in how to have spiritual conversations and how to facilitate discussion groups
To encourage the unchurched to attend an Explore God sermon series or discussion group
- Use the Intentional Relationships Pre-Outreach Series.
The Intentional Relationships series sets the stage for The 7 Big Questions series by encouraging Christians to cultivate genuine friendships that can pave the way for meaningful spiritual conversations. Many churches choose to use this series a few months before launching the initiative. You can download the guides here:
Intentional Relationships Sermon Outlines
Intentional Relationships Discussion Group Guide
- Visit ExploreGod.com.
Encourage your congregation to visit www.ExploreGod.com to watch some videos, read some articles, and familiarize themselves with the site. Help them see it as a resource for life that can be used to share their faith well beyond the Community Outreach Initiative.
- Plug In via Social Media.
The Explore God Facebook page and the Explora Dios Facebook page each reach more than 1 million people a day and are a great way to practice having conversations about God. We're also on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, tumblr, and Pinterest.
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Announcing Explore God for Kids
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The 7 Big Questions is now available in a format tailored to children ages 4-14. Explore God for Kids meets kids where they are and allows them to explore God on their terms. Like all Explore God content, it is completely ecumenical and free to use.
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| PSK Church Golf Tournament | |
19th Annual PSK Church & Ministry Golf Tournament
Friday, September 25
Registration deadline is September 14th.
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News from the Churches
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News from the Churches
Azle Avenue Baptist Church, 2901 Azle Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76106 has the following items available for pick up from the church (donation requested) for a congregation that can use them: 13 wooden church pews (15 ft.), 7 wooden church pews (9 ft.), and 2 organs. Contact Pastor Rafael Solis at pastorrafael@azleavenue.org or 817-808-4832.
The Baptist Church of Driftwood, 13540 F.M. 150 W. Driftwood, Texas, is looking for a bi-vocational Pastor. Anyone interested in this position, please forward a resume to the church no later than October 4, 2015. Mailing Address:
The Baptist Church of Driftwood, P.O. Box 205, Driftwood, Texas 78619. Attn: Pastoral Search Committee
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Becky Biser
Tarrant Baptist Association
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