(From the Muskogee Baptist Association newsletter)
Muskogee Baptist Association Mission Trip
A team is needed to go to San Miguel De Allende, Mexico.
You need a valid Passport
Cost is approximately $1,200 per person
We will be working with IMB Missionaries in the area for Gospel Saturation and Prayer Walking.
We will leave September 12 and return on the 19.
Please call Claudio (918-683-2875) if you feel led to participate in this mission opportunity.
We need to know by Monday, June 30, 2009 if you are going to San Miguel.
Sunday Evening, May 10, 2009, Immanuel Southern Baptist Church voted, in a special “called” business meeting to co-sponsor with 1st Indian Baptist Church (Muskogee) a new Native American work. The new mission will be hosted here at ISBC and will eventually be located in Wagoner.
Bro. Bill Sherrill, Director of Mission for Muskogee Baptist Association spoke at the meeting to help explain expectations and responsibilities. After a good discussion with many pertinent questions, the church voted and the motion passed!
It is expected that there will be a Fall 2009 start to the work. Most of the details have yet to be discussed, however, with the vote last night, those discussions can now begin in earnest!
Pray with us as we step out in faith to do something our church has never done before. However, as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission right here at home, we are sure that God will bless us and will bless this new church plant!
The 96th Annual Meeting of the Muskogee Baptist Association is now in the history books. First, I want to say that it is a pleasure being in an association where we can truly enjoy the company of the believers. It is great to laugh and not take ourselves seriously, but to know that we take the Task of taking the Gospel to a lost and dying world seriously!
First Baptist Church, Hulbert, OK, graciously hosted the Meeting and everyone was impressed by the hospitality. We enjoyed the opportunity to inspect their new worship facilities. They provided a delicious supper of pulled pork with sides and a wonderful selection of desserts!
Rev John Curtis provided the annual Doctrinal Sermon, based on Ephesians 5. He encouraged the church to BE the church!
I preached the annual Missions Sermon, based on II Kings 7:3-9. You can listen to it here, or by clicking on the link below. I encouraged believers to not keep the Good News to themselves.
Rev. Danny Gandarra, pastor of First Baptist, Fort Gibson preached the Annual Sermon, based on Isaiah 61:1-3. He encouraged everyone to have a “Jesus Ministry”.
To do justice to the content of Bro John’s and Bro Danny’s sermon, please go HERE and HERE to listen to them yourselves.
All business was conducted without controversy. Except for the election of second vice moderator. That proved for some comic relief. I was elected to serve as the Moderator for the next year.
God has truly blessed us with a wonderful Association to be involved with! Kudos to DOM Bill Sherrill, our Associate DOM Claudio Valencia, and especially to the Associational Secretary, Wanda Haley!
There will be a special called business meeting Sunday evening to elect messengers to the Muskogee Baptist Association’s 96th Annual Meeting. It should only last a few minutes.
If you would like to be messenger, please come ready to volunteer.
Following the business meeting, we’ll have our regular 4th Sunday Finger Food Fellowship!
Everyone is invited to the Muskogee Bapitst Association’s Senior Adult Revival, October 13-15. It starts at 10 am each day with lunch following. You are requested to bring a salad, a side dish, or a dessert. Invite your friends!
Yesterday, the 95th Annual Meeting of the Muskogee Baptist Association convened at First Baptist Church in Muskogee. Donald and Betty Blair, Willie Rice, and I attended as messengers.
Reports were given from various ministries. Rev Kent Kellogg, former DOM for MBA presented the doctrinal sermon on stewardship and Rev Claudio Valencia presented a passionate sermon on missions. Yours truly was elected to a two year term on the Missions and Ministry Committee and was also selected to give the missions sermon at the 96th Annual Meeting, which will be held Nov 3, 2008, at FBC Hulbert.
I had the privilege of reading scripture and giving the opening prayer for the evening session.
We passed several resolutions including one to continue to provide Biblical teaching regarding gambling and to stand firmly against it and the lottery and another which affirms God’s plan for heterosexual marriages without fear of apology. The best one, however, was that “we the churches of the MBA will make the Great Commission” and its fulfillment a priority in our churches, and that we will develop and implement biblical strategies to effectively reach our communities for Christ”.
The DOM report requested that each church increase their giving to the MBA by 1/2 of one per cent. He also invited all churches to participate in “Missions-Plus”, which is simply an straight gift of $50 each month dedicated to ethnic ministries.
I am proud to be a part of the Muskogee Baptist Association. The leadership of Bro Bill Sherrill and Bro Gary McKean is exemplary. Bro Claudio’s Hispanic ministry is off to a great start. Dr. Bill Haynes provides biblical counselling to our area. Bro Rowdy Morris is literally invading the college campuses with BCM.
I hope you are off to a good start for the month of November! My! Time is zooming!
This Sunday, we’re going to study I John 4:1-6 and see how we need to exercise “Spiritual Scrutiny”. Not everyone and everything that comes along calling itself “Christian” is actually of God. We’ll take a look at how we can tell the difference. Sunday evening, we’ll look at Psalm 100 and how to have an “Attitude of Gratitude”.
We will have a special called business meeting Sunday evening after church to discuss Muskogee Baptist Association’s request to use our facilities to host a VBS Clinic on April 3, 2008, from 6:30-9:30 pm.
The Ladybug Tea Party is set for next Monday night. The van will leave the church at 5:45pm.
We have a deacons’ meeting scheduled for 5:30, Sunday evening.
Our monthly breakfast fellowship will be held Saturday, Nov. 10 at 8:30 am.
Now, be sure to invite someone to church this Sunday!
The Muskogee Baptist Association is sponsoring the Baptist Women’s Day of Prayer, November 5, 6:30 pm at Mt. View Baptist Church, 6401 W. Hancock in Muskogee. The special guest speaker is Kelly King, BGCO Women’s Missions and Ministry Specialist.
The theme of the meeting is a “Ladybug Tea Party”. All women are invited to attend.
I attended my first Pastors’ Conference at the Muskogee Baptist Association today. It was a good time of fellowship, but the highlight for me was twofold. Bill Sherrill provided the program with an overview of how the Association functions and what their ministries are. The MBA Disaster Relief Team demonstrated their abilities by cooking and providing lunch for the pastors.
I am very impressed with our Association and it dedication to supporting the churches within the Association to fulfill the Great Commission. I hope that one day, as a church, we will be in a position to raise our monthly percentage of contribution to our local association. We are currently giving 2%. Our contribution to the Cooperative Program is currently 5%.
As I spoke about on Sunday night, Acts 1:8 says that we “shall be witnesses” or better “will be witnesses in Wagoner, the rest of Oklahoma, the entire United States, and even to the rest of the world. Our participation with the MBA assists our requirement to be witnesses right here at home.
Pray for Bro Bill Sherrill, Bro Gary McKeen, Bro Claudio Valencia, Bro Bill Haynes, Wanda Haley, and Cheryl Monroe, as they fulfill their mission statement: Working together to assist and strengthen churches on mission.
Tuesday, the Muskogee Baptist Association will host a Sunday School Leader’s Conference at Boston Avenue Baptist Church in Muskogee. We will take a van and leave at 6 pm. Will will return sometime around 9:30. Please eat supper before you come, as we won’t be stopping along the way.
All Sunday School teachers, assistants, directors, and those interested in teaching a Sunday School class are encouraged to attend.
If you have any questions, please call Bro Rick at the church office: 485-5115.
Immanuel Southern Baptist Church 