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E-Challenge February
2016
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| Greetings! |
Eleven years ago, we stood on the beach outside the Hotel del Coronado with our toes in the cold waters of the Pacific. My bride was attending a school business convention where she was one of the speakers in support of a prominent vendor. I was trying to find the right words in the right order for my resignation on the upcoming Sunday. Oh yeah, we were also celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary.
Walking through that warm sand and cold water, I prayed. I asked God, "What's next?" I didn't have another ministry position lined up. My health was in bad shape. Our son was a year away from graduating from high school. Our daughter was in the middle of junior high. It was a tough spot. How I prayed as I walked the breadth of that island! How I wondered what
I had done to reach such a spot in my life!
Something hugely significant happened a couple of weeks ago on that same beach where we poured out our hearts to God in prayer. Unbeknownst to the handful of loved ones gathered around us that evening, God had taken us right back to where we asked all those hard questions. He hallowed that spot with answers we had no way to see coming. Due to special circumstances, I cannot say in writing what those details are until next month. Let's say for now that God often takes us full circle. Let's also say his delays are not denials. Let's further say that it is overwhelming and satisfying when he does what only he can do.
I have a friend who has been looking for a ministry position for well over two years since he was forced out of his last church role. Another friend was recently forced out of his role. Many of us have been there and done that.
I grieve all over again when I hear such stories.The thing that focused me forward was having a strong sense of mission. I developed a personal mission statement some years before while reading Calvin Miller's Empowered Leadership. I refined that mission statement during leadership coaching with the Franklin Covey organization.
A couple of years ago I refined my mission statement further as I worked through the LifePlan process. Last week Becky and I each led young leaders through LifePlan. Becky worked with Casey Lester, one of our outstanding assistants. Her mission is, I inspire others to find their worth in Christ.
Casey has an inspiring story. Living her mission comes naturally. Among other things, she is a five-time national champion cheerleader. She also has wounds and scars on her soul that provide her with perspective few adults twice her age possess. She is an aspiring author who has much to say to young women and the men who love them. She works alongside her husband in opening the hearts and minds of their youth group to greater vision of what they can become in Christ.
I worked with the husband of our former assistant, Kristen. Joshua is a seminary graduate with much more graduate school in front of him. He loves the outdoors, and he wants to teach. He worked hard to develop his mission statement. Then one word led to a phrase which led to a sentence in rapid succession. Try this on for size: I restore broken people empowering them to excel at life.
Children of our Father in heaven live with purpose. That gives us hope when tough times come, and they do come. What is your mission? What is your LifePlan? Whether you are on the front end of life like Casey and Joshua, somewhere in the middle like me, or farther along like a couple of guys I work with, the clarity of a LifePlan empowers us to make the most of our days, however many may be left.
David
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Pastor's Conference and Executive Board Meetings
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Pastor's Conference and Executive Board Schedule
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:
Cost:
$7.00 for lunch
February 22 - Pastor's Conference
February 29 - Pastor's Conference
March 7 - Pastor's Conference
March 14 - NO Pastor's Conference (Spring Break)
March 21 - Executive Board
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Dying to Self - Do we really do it?
|  By Becky Biser
Then Jesus said to his disciples, " If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." Matthew 16:24
I've been reading Invitation to the JESUS LIFE: Experiments in Christlikenss by Jan Johnson. She writes, "Why is it that Jesus asks me to do the reverse of what smart, clever, successful people have taught me?" For instance, I was told that in order to have friends, I needed to be a good friend, but Jesus challenged me to love the person in front of me, expecting no token of friendship in return. The world and the church hinted if not outright said, "You get points for trying." However, Jesus asked me simply to abide in him and trust that he would take care of the fruit. Jesus said it wasn't about performance. "Die to yourself," I could hear him say. "That's what I did. Will you?"
Dying to self is something I have to do constantly. When I think I'm doing good in one area, God reveals another that I need to work on.
For instance, I have gotten so much better about learning to die to self when I have to go to the doctor, for illness or a check-up. I have come to realize that I'm not just there for myself. I actually look for opportunities to engage with people whom I don't know. I shine Christ's light on doctors, nurses and folks in the waiting room. When I go with this expectant attitude that God has me there for His Kingdom business, He always brings people to me to talk to. They almost always make the first move and I'm humbly ready to embrace what's next. I count it an honor.
A couple of years ago when going for my yearly checkup, the doctor was concerned and sent me for a sonogram. He was concerned that I might have uterine cancer. I actually felt such peace and knew that God had me on assignment. I sensed the Holy Spirit nudging me that He had a plan. I was so grateful that I would have more opportunities to engage with the medical staff. I soon learned of a student, Melissa, who was there working in my doctor's office completing her rotations. She would soon be moving to another assignment and was nervous that she would not know anyone. I was able to encourage her, pray over her several times and make connections in Waco where she would be reassigned. I knew God had me there for her. Following surgery, the doctor told me that is was pre-cancerous, and I wouldn't need any other treatment. I wasn't worried because I knew and trusted that God would be with me no matter what I faced.
Other areas include worrying about what others think of me, defending my ideas, wanting my way. The list goes on and on.
I still need to die to myself moment by moment. How about you? Will you die too? |
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Upcoming Training and Retreats offered by TBA
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Upcoming Training and Retreats
February 22-23, 2016 - Hearing God Retreat
March 28 - April 1, 2016 - Professional Coach Training
April 23 - Association VBS Conference
9:00 to 12:30 (Free Event)
Wedgwood Baptist Church
5522 Whitman Avenue
May 1-3, 2016 - re:FOCUS Retreat
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Plan a Communication Clarity For Teams (CC4T) Session with the TBA Staff
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Looking to invest in your staff team? Consider Communication Clarity for Teams (CC4T) training with the TBA staff.
We will provide each of your team members with the DiSC Assessment, StrengthsFinder Assessment, a Spiritual Gifts Inventory, Thinking Wavelength Assessment as well as a Personal Mission Development concept profile.
The training schedule is normally 9:00am to 4:00pm.
Your team members will walk away with a better understanding of their teammates, as well as a comprehensive understanding of themselves and how God has made them unique for a purpose. Each team member will also walk away with their own person mission statement and tools on how to implement God's design for them.
The cost is $30 per team member and includes the assessments, lunch, snacks and training. If interested, contact Becky Biser at becky@tarrantbaptist.org.
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We Need Help for Missionary Families
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Help A Missionary Family
Hundreds of IMB missionaries and their families are coming home from the mission field before they were prepared to do so. These missionaries are looking for jobs, housing, and cars.
Some of the missionaries we know are coming to the Metroplex include those who have been serving in India, Brunei, Mexico, Malawi, South Africa, South Asia, and South America.
Please contact us with any good, solid leads regarding jobs, housing, and cars. Let's make their unexpected homecoming a good experience.
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Vancouver Vision Tour
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2016 Vancouver Vision Tour
February 22-25, 2016 ~ April 4-7, 2016 ~ September 12-15, 2016
There are a couple of places still available for the February Vancouver Vision Tour!
If your church is affiliated with the BGCT, or even dually aligned,arrangements will be made to pay your
hotel and local travel expenses. All you would need to pay is the flight ticket and a few meals.
If you or any of your pastors or staff members would be interested, please contact David Bowman.
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Social Media Update
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Tarrant Baptist Association now has an Instagram account!
Please follow us on Instagram to stay connected -- @tarrantbaptist
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Book Review
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A recent trip to the Left Coast provided several hours of quality time with Kindle, Pocket, and Blinkist. These reading apps empower users to cover a lot of reading material in short order. I used Blinkist to read book summaries of several books I wasn't sure I wanted to read in an unabridged form. Now I can take a few books off of my Amazon Wish List. Much to my bride's chagrin, I added a few as well.
I found Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono a book I'm probably not going to read any time soon. The summary covered the matter fully enough for me. Our staff uses a better system that we learned from our Church Unique navigation. The Collaboration Cube simplifies the point the six hats makes and the visuals are clear and individual enough for groups to quickly grasp and utilize.
Brief by Joseph McCormack is a book I will most likely read more deeply soon. I found the Blinkist summary quite informative and helpful. I would like more illustrations and instruction contained in the broader read.
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman is a book I've heard about and read about for years. I started reading it and quickly discerned that I was going to have to plow through a great deal of research to arrive at the really good stuff. The Blinkist summary cut through the technical details to provide the heart of the book. That was followed by Emotional Intelligence 2.0. The Blinkist version is not enough to satisfy me. My bride and I are reading this book together.
I am waiting on Michael Hyatt's new book to arrive. Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want promises to cover similar territory to a couple of others in my library related to life planning.
Look for my review soon on Amazon.com and in this space.
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Apps of the Month
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Our family has used Amazon's Kindle readers and Kindle apps for the last seven or eight years. A couple of years ago, I discovered that we can access our highlights and notes from the books we read at kindle.amazon.com. Those notes can be copied and pasted in Evernote, Google Drive, or any other storage system you might use. Now there's a much better and more efficient option.
Clippings.io connects to your Kindle account to copy all of your notes into Evernote. Once the two apps are connected, click on the Clippings.io extension on your web browser and all of your highlights and notes are inserted into individual Evernote notebooks sorted by your books. This makes searching and retrieving the information much simpler. Sermon research, quotes, and stories are a few clicks away.
Write book reviews? Now all of the information you require is easy to access and insert into your favorite word processor. This is one of my favorite apps ever.
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Podcast Highlight
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 The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast is one of pods in my rotation that I really enjoy. Carey is relaxed, easy to listen to, and shares great information. He often interviews leaders you welcome hearing.
One of the recent episodes was an interview with Jarrett Stevens. They discussed how to say No in leadership. That's episode 073 and a good place to start. Drop back a few episodes to 070 and hear Dave Adamson talk about A Nitty Gritty Guide to Social Media. I guarantee you will learn something new from this episode. Listen and learn!
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re:FOCUS Journey for Pastors and Staff
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re:FOCUS 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: MAY 1 - MAY 3
Sunday at 6:00pm thru Tuesday at Noon
Cost is $125
- 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 May 1st and end at noon on Tuesday, May 3rd at the Riverbend Retreat Center. The cost is $125. 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: May 1-3, 2016 (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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Important Tax Info in 2016
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Important Tax-Related Information for Decision-Making in 2016
The Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by Congress and signed into law in December 2015 includes a couple of items that were made permanent and will be of particular interest to churches and Texas residents:
IRA "Roll-Over" Distribution to Charity - It works like this:
● A taxpayer age 70 ½ may exclude from gross income up to $100,000 in "qualified charitable distributions."
● Since the taxpayer is not taxed on the distribution, the taxpayer does not get a separate contribution deduction.
● This distribution meets the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules.
● The distribution must be made directly from the IRA trustee to the charity.
This giving option opens up a door of opportunity for qualified donors to make significant gifts to their church without paying any tax on the distribution.
Texas State Sales Tax Deduction - For taxpayers who itemize their deductions on Schedule A, the option to include a deduction for Texas sales tax (as determined by the IRS provided table) is no longer available only on an annual extension basis. It has been made permanent from year to year. This removes the uncertainty of the availability of this deduction from year to year.
Another benefit provided by Section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Service Tax Code which has existed for many years is the Health Savings Account (HSA). In conjunction with an HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan) (defined in 2016 as a deductible of $1,300/$2,600 per single/family, respectively, and a maximum out-of-pocket exposure of $6,550/$13,100 per single/family, respectively), these plans can be funded up to $3,350/$6,750 per single/family, respectively, with an additional catch-up contribution of $1,000 available to those 55 and older. Funding can be made by any eligible individual or with an employee and the employee's employer both contributing up to the aggregate contribution limit. These funds can be used to pay numerous medical, dental, eye and other expenses as well as health insurance deductibles, co-pays, and co-insurance. Contributed amounts to the HSA can be adjusted off the gross 1040 income amount and can be made for any given year until April 15 of the year following the previous tax year (normally the due date of this tax return). This is a great way to set aside monies to pay for qualified expenses that would otherwise be paid for with after-tax dollars (HSA funds are never taxed if several basic requirements are met). There are certain restrictions such as the inability to contribute to an HSA if you are on Medicare, so check out all the implications before setting up such an account.
Take note of some key federal tax figures for 2016:
- Standard Deduction - single $6,300, married $12,600
- Personal & dependent exemption amount -- $4,050
- SECA (OASDI and Medicare) rate for self-employed - 15.3%
- Employee & employer FICA rate - 7.65% each
- Annual gift tax exclusion -- $14,000
- Maximum salary deduction for 401(k)/403(b) -- $18,000
- 401(k) & 403(b) over 50 "catch-up" limit -- $6,000
- IRA contribution limit -- $5,500
- IRA over 50 "catch-up limit -- $1,000
- Business mileage rate - 54.0 cents per mile
- Moving & medical mileage rate - 19.0 cents per mile
- Charitable mileage rate - 14.0 cents per mile
Gary L. Crowell, CPA, CCA, ACC
Chief Financial Officer
Tarrant Baptist Association
817-927-1911, ext. 213
gary@tarrantbaptist.org
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Coaching, coaching, coaching!
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Coaching is an amazing tool! 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. Coach training is available March 28 thru April 1 of 2016 and then again later next fall, August 8-12.
Another special offering in the coaching experience is the ability for you as part of the Tarrant Association to avail yourself to being coached. You can receive a Laser Coaching session (a 20-minute session) once a month at no cost. Simply call TBA and reserve a time and coach. Laser Coaching will help you manage time, focus, prioritize, brainstorm possibilities, get unstuck and much more. Check it out! Give it a try! Call today---817.927.1911 or click here to register!
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21st Century Wilberforce Initiative - Speak Freedom
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Invest in Religious Freedom
Take Action
The 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative advocates for religious freedom as a universal right. Over five billion people, 77% of the world's population, live in a context characterized by religious persecution, discrimination, or restrictions. Twenty Christians are killed because of their faith every day. Genocide is occurring against Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East.
The 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative is creating an alliance of churches that will make religious freedom a priority. Wilberforce provides current, reliable information and training for these churches and suggests practical ways they can mobilize as advocates for defenseless people.
I have worked with Dr. Randel Everett on religious freedom issues over the last couple of years. This is a consuming passion for him and his team. I strongly encourage you to lend your voice and church support to this ministry.
With gratitude, David Bowman
For more information about the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative and
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Texas Baptist Men - Retreat and Training
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 Texas Baptist Men - Disaster Relief
Volunteer Retreat and Specialty Training
March 9 -12, 2016
Highland Lakes Camp in Spicewood, TX
We are extending our Early Bird price one more week! Don't miss out on the special time of training and fellowship with other volunteers. Send in your registration now, postmarked by Friday, February 26th and get the Early Bird price!
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WMU Missions Fair
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We are also collecting canned food for Tarrant Food Bank, and Bras size 40 & up for the Fort Worth Day Resource Center.
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| Call of the Wild - Sportsman's Dinner |
Men:
Here is a great opportunity for your men's ministry to use as an inviter event!
The 2016 Call of the Wild Sportsman's Dinner, which will be February 18th from 5:30 - 8:00pm at River Ranch in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, features ESPN/Outdoor Channel personality David Blanton of RealTree. David has a real heart for ministry and he is excited about his visit to Fort Worth.
Individual tickets are $35 and tables for eight with guaranteed premium seating are $400. Tickets and tables both can be purchased at Travis Avenue at the Call of the Wild table in between the Sanctuary and the West Building on Sunday mornings and online anytime. Click here to buy tickets today.
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TRANSFORM... Teaching That Changes Lives
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March 19th -- Allen, TX
8:00am - 2:30pm
LifeWay is thrilled to be partnering with the Baptist General Convention of Texas to offer
TRANSFORM...Teaching That Changes Lives.
TRANSFORM is an all day Saturday training event focused completely on teaching, especially teaching
that leads to life change. The goal of TRANSFORM is to equip every teacher with practical skills
they can put to use immediately that will enable them to teach God's Word in a way that
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Senior Adult Retreat - Riverbend
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Parenting Seminar
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 PARENTING SEMINAR! HOW TO MOTIVATE YOUR CHILD!
8:45 am - 12:00 pm CST April 16, 2016
Wedgwood Baptist Church
5522 Whitman Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76133
Are you a parent? Grandparent? A person currently investing your life in the life of a child? Join us as Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN , BSN from the National Center for Biblical Parenting share invaluable insight on motivating the heart of your child and provide encouragement for parents striving to raise Godly children in today's challenging culture.
Saturday April 16, 2016 from 8:45-12:00 -Cost: $5 per person or $10 per couple! Registration begins March 6th. Click here to register!
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TBMA Conference
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Calling All... Texas Baptist Ministry Assistants!
April 7-9, 2016
Menger Hotel ~ San Antonio, TX
The conference will be offering 37 different sessions to meet the needs of your position at your office, whether it be church, association, hospital, state convention, state newspaper, school, children's home, retirement home or any other ministry position. Also your position can be full-time, part-time, volunteer, or retired.
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BGCT Upcoming Events
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Registration is now open for Make Your Groups Matter, Texas Baptist Educators Retreat
The 2016 African American Leadership Workshop (AALW) is March 4-5. Click here for more information.
Instrumental Convergence - March 19, 2016 - For more information, click here.
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SBTC Upcoming Events
|  Heart of the Child Conference - April 22-23, 2016 : Broken Arrow, OK |
| WMU of Texas Homecoming |
We will be hosting an open house at our office on
March 5, 2016 | 2-4 pm
It will be a fun time to celebrate our past and
envision our future - everyone is welcome!
Call our office at (214) 828-5150 for more details.
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TMGA Golf Tournament
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Happy 2016 to all our TMGA Golfers!
Plans are shaping up great for this years 38th Annual Texas Minister-Layman
Golf Tournament. Put the following info on your calendar now and begin to plan
ahead for another great day of Golf, Fellowship, Food and Fun!
BROOKHAVEN COUNTRY CLUB - DALLAS, TX
MONDAY, MAY 2, 2016 / 8:30 AM SHOTGUN START
MODIFIED SCRAMBLE & INDIVIDUAL FLIGHTS
TROPHIES, PRIZES & SURPRISES
DELICIOUS FOOD FOR ALL
Be thinking about who you are going to invite for this 38th year.
Contact Don Dendy (Director of TMGA) anytime at Dondendy@aol.com or call me on my cell at 214-957-0544.
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Evening of Gospel Music ~ SWBTS
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Leaders In Training (L.I.T.) Ministries
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L.I.T. Ministries invite you to their upcoming conference in Cedar Hill, Texas. They will be going through an extensive training on empowering kids in the church. It is February 29-March 2 at Hillcrest Baptist Church.
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Harvest America - March 6, 2016
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 Hundreds of local churches have come together to bring music from Chris Tomlin, Lecrae, Switchfoot, and MercyMe, with a message of hope from Greg Laurie to AT&T Stadium. This event is the epicenter of a free nationwide simulcast that will extend into thousands of churches, theaters, and living rooms across the country. With only two months to go, your church should start praying now for people you would like to see come to faith, and begin promoting the upcoming event using the materials provided. We want to encourage your people to
Pray-Invite-Bring. Click here for more information on how you can become more involved and equipped
through attending meetings and training sessions.
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News from the Churches
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Southcliff Baptist Church
has DVD copies of Bill Hybel's "Just Walk Across the Room" series. If any church would like to have them please contact Rhonda Jackson at 817-924-2241 or Rhonda@southcliff.com.
North Pointe Baptist Church is having a Parenting Seminar ("Dealing with Anger and Bad Attitudes" for Parents of Children 2-18) on Friday, February 19 from 6:30-9:00 PM. Click here to register or call 609-771-8002 to sign up. For more information, contact Robert Schulze at robert@npfam.com.
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