FBC Carthage E-News for January 26, 2010

First Baptist Church E-News
January 26, 2010

Good Tuesday Morning,

You may be wondering why the Monday E-News is being sent on Tuesday. The stomach virus bug caught-up with me Sunday night and Monday and that’s enough said about that. I do want to say “Thank You” to Brad Tackett for stepping in and preaching Sunday night for me. I am much better and back at work today.

The Membership 101 class had ten present this past Sunday afternoon. We had a great discussion concerning membership and the mission of FBC Carthage. We will have this class on the fourth Sunday of each month. Thanks to everyone who attended.

The special offering for relief efforts in Haiti was received this past Sunday with a total of $1,457.21 given. This money will go directly to relief efforts in Haiti through the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief. I have copied the latest update from TBC Disaster Relief at the end of the news.

The Bible Pathways booklets are in for February. If you have not picked up a copy they are available in the foyer of the Sanctuary. Reading the Bible through in a year is a great adventure in God’s Word.

The Youth Ski Trip will be this weekend, January 30-31. All youth and adults are reminded of the 5:00 AM departure time. It looks like the cold weather and maybe even some snow is back in the forecast for this trip.

Have a blessed week,
Bro. Tim


Here’s the news:
1. All couples are invited to a Valentine Dinner on Saturday, February 13 at 6:00 PM in the Family Life Center. The cost will be $20 per couple. A sign-up sheet will be available this Sunday on the table in the foyer or you can call the church office at 735-1929. Robbie’s Catering will be providing the meal.

2. The question was asked in the Membership 101 class about recordings of the messages. At the present time, messages are recorded and placed on the www.fbccarthage.com web site under the media tab. CD’s are available upon request to the church office. The CD ministry may be a ministry that you feel a desire to help get started at FBC Carthage. If so, contact Bro. Tim or Deborah at the church office.

3. The proof copy for the 2010 Directory has been returned to Olan Mills for production. I expect the finished directories by Easter.

4. Here is the latest update from Elizabeth Holmes from the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief office in Brentwood, Tennessee:

Many people are eager to respond to the heartbreaking disaster in Haiti. There are serious infrastructure and coordination issues that are hampering the disaster relief response. Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief continues to be in daily communication with our partners: Baptist Global Response (Southern Baptist Entity with primary responsibility for International disaster response), the Florida Baptist Convention, North American Mission Board and our sister state conventions. BGR, Florida Baptists, IMB and North American Mission Board now have personnel on the ground in Haiti and are feeding information back to us on conference calls daily.
A primary hindrance to Southern Baptists sending in teams is the transportation issues. The airport in Port-au-Prince is still closed to commercial flights. The 200 mile trip from Santo Domingo to Port-au- Prince that would normally take 7 hours to drive now takes 18 hours. All roads are heavily damaged and vehicular travel is very slow and extremely hazardous. Another issue is the safety and security of volunteers. There are no secure areas for teams to sleep. When teams are deployed, they will more than likely be sleeping in tents.
At this time Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief is not collecting any items to be shipped to Haiti. The docks at Port-au-Prince are expected to be closed for up to 90 days and non-governmental air cargo is very limited. Our Southern Baptist leadership has requested that money be given to be used to buy items needed in bulk. We are praying that shipping ports will re-open soon and more supplies can be sent.
BGR and NAMB are telling us that it could be 90 to 120 days before Disaster Relief teams are needed in Haiti. When called upon the teams that will go will be food distribution, medical, restoration, rebuild and chaplains. It is anticipated that this response to Haiti will last three years and perhaps longer. We as Southern Baptists want those people in Haiti to know we will be there for the long haul. Thank you for your continued patience as we seek the best way to respond to the needs of the people of Haiti.
For now, we hope you will continue to pray, give, and prepare to go. Follow this link to give online or by check. http://www.tnbaptist.org/page.asp?page=99 All funds will be used for victims assistance according to our Board-adopted policy on designated Disaster Relief contributions. You can also see information and even download bulletin inserts by going to www.namb.net/haiti
You can also follow these links to regular updates from Baptist Global Responsehttp://www.baptistglobalresponse.com/new/.

5. Here is a video I have received from two different people this week. It is an encouragement and motivation to keep on keepin’on. It is the story of Patrick Henry Hughes:
www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=9xwCG0Ey2Mg


6. Here are three newer songs that the youth will use for their Sunday Morning devotional. Zeke Tomaselli will be with us for the ski trip and will be leading the worship and devotional.

Everlasting God http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yubLGTOcm8c

How Great Is Our God http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZFN8TBfgNU

Forever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSM96OA39ic