May 2011

Cropwell Baptist
Messenger
Monthly Newsletter | May 2011
Upcoming Events at Cropwell
I’m a Christian Now Class Part 2
(For Children)
May 1, 8, 15, 22
On Mission Celebration
May 1 - 4
Mother’s Day/Baby Dedication May 8
Church-wide Yard Sale
May 14
Preschool Praise Program
May 15
Pro-Life Banquet
May 19
School’s Out Celebration
May 21
Flournoy Bridal Tea
May 22
Vacation Bible School
June 12-16
Haiti Mission Trip
June 18-25
Father’s Day
June 19
Suzanne Morrow Wedding
June 25
Blast off Carnival for Kids
June 29
Family Water Day
July 22
Flournoy/Powell Wedding
July 30
Ann’s New Life Center
“Life is Good” Fundraising Banquet
The annual fundraising event for Ann’s New Life Center
is right around the corner on May 19, 2011 at 7:00 pm
at the First United Methodist Beacon. The guest
speaker this year is pro-life activist and songwriter,
Gianna Jessen, who is an abortion survivor!
You will not want to miss this event! If you would like to
be a sponsor, underwriter or table host for this pro-life
event, please call Elizabeth Thomaston at
205-812-4231 or Sharon Stice at 205-613-1053
for further details. Mark your calendars now!
“I set before you life and death...choose life”
Deuteronomy 30:19
Vacation Bible School Coming Soon. . .
Howdy partner! Grab your bandana, dust off your boots,
and get ready to mine for true gold as we head to the Old
West this year for Gold Rush: Discovering the Rock of
Ages.
As we blaze a trail into the heart of gold territory, we will
uncover exciting Bible discoveries about Jesus, and we
will answer questions such as:
School’s Out Celebration!
Kids in 1st through 6th Grades join us for
a day of fun at Trussville Play station.
Cost is $20 per person, which includes
lunch and unlimited play. We will leave
on May 21st (11:30 am - 5:30 pm). Sign
up in the Children’s Area.
Parents Night Out
There will be NO Parents Night Out this
month. The Family Life Center will be
closed due to preparation for the Haiti
Yard Sale. We will pick back up next
month!
Preschool Praise Program
The Preschoolers will present a program
of praise music on Sunday night, May
15th at 6:30 pm in the Worship Center.
The final rehearsal for this program will
be Friday, May 13th from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Dinner will be provided. Drop off
children in the Worship Center on Friday
Night. Please continue to listen to the
Praise CD with your child and remember
to purchase your child’s t-shirt for the
program. If you have any questions,
please contact Kacia Frieze at
205.405.1633.
What did Jesus claim about
Himself?
How do we know Jesus is the
only way to Heaven?
How was Jesus’ birth and life
unique?
How was Jesus’ death and
resurrection unique?
How has Jesus impacted science, the arts, education,
and so much more?
You can be a part of this exciting ministry reaching over
150 children and preschoolers.
Join
us
June 12-16, at 5:00 for a family meal and then stay for
VBS, which begins at 6:00 pm.
We really need everyone’s support as we minister to the
children in our church and in our community. It requires
the help of a lot of people to make our Vacation Bible
School a success. There are so many ways you can plug
in and be a part of this valuable outreach and discipleship
tool for children and preschoolers:
Discovery Mine Bible Time
24-Karat Crafts
Lip-Smackin’ Snacks
Rip-Roarin’ Recreation
Trail Guide
Decorating
Registration
And the list goes on and on.
In the next week or so, please contact Ashley
Anderson at aanderson@cropwellbaptist.org if you
would like to help in the Children’s Department
(Grades 1-6) or contact Patsy Flournoy at
pflournoy@cropwellbaptist.org if you would like to
help in the Preschool Department. Please, please,
please get involved! It won’t be the same without
you.
May Birthdays
Kimm Coady
Jerry Laney
Crosby Warren
Lynn Nichols
Lenora Freeman
James Morrow
Zane McDanal
Barbara Grill
Karla Lowery
Kaitlyn Anderson
Marlee Harmon
Terry Sims
Louise Addison
Jennifer Harmon
Ashley Minton
Wayne Sherbet
Dianne McCoy
Kelly Perrin
Lisa Arrington
Jean Edwards
Kim Ledlow
Erin Stanley
Gene Paul Polk
Sonali Albus
Ryan Wood
Christa Wood
5/2
5/2
5/4
5/5
5/7
5/7
5/7
5/8
5/8
5/9
5/9
5/10
5/14
5/15
5/15
5/15
5/16
5/17
5/20
5/20
5/20
5/20
5/20
5/20
5/20
5/20
Jason Haynes
Cody Sullivan
Will Sullivan
Pete Funderburg
Dillon Morris
Bart Lonergan
Mary Atkins
Jimmy Bible
Emma McDanal
Stacy Armstrong
Sarah Watlington
Sheila Lee
Connor Hamlin
Helen Sherbet
Max Pruitt
Kim Moon
Terry Tyler
Josh Smith
Tom Palmer
Cypress Hathorn
5/21
5/22
5/22
5/22
5/23
5/23
5/23
5/24
5/24
5/26
5/26
5/26
5/26
5/27
5/28
5/29
5/29
5/30
5/30
5/31
“If Jesus already paid for my sins, why do I
have to stand in the corner for being bad?”
Cropwell Welcomes John Maddox as Our Interim Student Pastor
I grew up in Smyrna, GA as the youngest of 4 kids. I moved away from home at 19 when I
enrolled at Toccoa Falls College, where I earned a B.S. in Pastoral Ministry. Toccoa is where
I met my wife, Suzette (she double majored in Counseling and Psychology). We will
celebrate 11 years of marriage in May. We have 3 children: Jeremiah (6), Isaiah(3), and Ezra
(4mos.). I felt that I was called to the ministry at age 16 while on a youth mission trip to
Mexico. Through the years since, God has taken me on a journey through various volunteer
positions at different churches while providing for me and my family through secular
work. No matter what point I have been at in life God has taught me to trust Him with
everything and to be a minister wherever I may be, whether it be within the church walls or
not. In 2005, Suzette and I moved here to Pell City to take a ministry position as house
parents at Lifeline Village. After finding out that we were expecting our second son, we
decided to leave Lifeline in order to focus more attention on building a family
together. Within a couple of years I found myself getting a job as a manager with Chick-filA. I have been with Chick-fil-A now for 3 years and continue to find ministry opportunities
everyday. As my life changed forever as a teenager when a youth pastor invested time in me,
I see great opportunities to have an impact on the teens around me. My prayer and my
passion is that I would be able to leave a lasting legacy of following Christ to students and
their families, as well as my own. When I am able to look back on my life one day, that is
what I want to see.
Missions Spotlight
Dr. Joseph Garikapaty
“Thank you so much for your prayers and giving for our
Lord’s ministry through which we are bringing the gospel for
many lost. In December and January we covered two big
areas by our 100 pastors team. One at S.P.S.R Nellore and
it’s surrounding 5 towns and at Baddipudi town and its
surrounding six villages. We preached the Gospel at every
street of the towns. As the Lord given results in these two
months at our gospel preaching to the lost including church
outreach and personal meet (ings) with souls. In December
104 souls and January 120 souls believed and added to the
kingdom of God. I request you to please pray for these
souls…”
Joseph Garikapaty
Country Focus: India
India is home to approximately 1.1 billion people
and 41% of the world’s poor. Its borders dominate South
Asia and the Indian Ocean. It is one of the most complex and
diverse countries in the world. There are 28 union States and
7 Union Territories, each with their own culture and way of
life. India is the most ethnically diverse nation on the earth
with over 2,500 distinct people groups. This provides great
challenges for the spread of the gospel in a context that is
infiltrated with religious spiritism and animism.
All of the major world religions find their home in
India, but India is the birthplace of Hinduism and continues to
Ask God to work in the hearts of those
this day to be the major religion of her people. Some places in
India have less than 0.5% professing to be evangelical in the villages where the church planters
Christians and suffers from persecution by Hindu nationalists will minister.
Pray for God to use His Word to change
and militant Muslims. Very urgent spiritual and physical
need.
the lives of many who previously did not
have access to Scripture.
The Family Matters
God's Word says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old,
he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). God wanted His people to have
“hearts that would be inclined to fear Me and keep all My commands always, so
that it might go well with them and their children forever!(Deuteronomy 5:29).
Right after that passage in Deuteronomy 5, Moses records one of the most
important passages in the whole book of Deuteronomy – in fact, one of the key
passages in all the Bible. In this passage, Deuteronomy 6:1-9, God gives us
principles and practical strategies for raising families honoring to Him.
The Future For The Family
Moses teaches us that God promises a future for the family: These are the
commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to
observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your
children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as
you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that
you may enjoy long life. (Deuteronomy 6:1-2). In this passage, God promises a
future for three generations of the family. The promise begins with the parents
and continues with the children and grandchildren. Don't children usually act
according to the principles of life they learn from their parents? Plato said, "the
life of the nation is the life of the family written large" (paraphrased). A
juvenile delinquent is often just a child trying to act like his or her parents. And
godly children usually learn their godliness by watching godly parents.
The Foundation For The Family
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your strength." The foundation for the family is a love for God. That may
sound simplistic, but it's true. And profound. Love God with a sincere love – that
means with all your heart. Many kids are turned off to God because they see that
their parents who profess religion don't really love God with all their hearts.
Kids know hypocrisy when they see it. They want parents who love God so
sincerely that nothing is marked as private from God.
The Formula For The Family
Parents, you have a responsibility to transmit your faith to your children. It's
not the preacher's job, the Sunday school teacher’s job, the college professor's
job, it's your job. Here's how God's Word says to do it: These commandments
that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when
you lie down and when you get up. (Deut. 6:6-7) Spiritual training is the
family's responsibility. And nobody else can take the family's place.
Unfortunately, many families in our day are abandoning that responsibility. God
made children to depend on their parents. Regular character education – based on
the Bible and the wisdom of parental experience – needs to start when children
are young. An educator, said, "You give me the children until they're seven,
and anyone can have them after that." Start spiritual training early!
(Adapted from article by Dr. Adrian Rogers)
Reminder:
Our Benevolence Committee
would like to take a Love
Offering every 5th Sunday for
the Needy in Our Community.
A Mother’s Love
A mother’s love is something
That no one can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
And of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
And enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
Or take that love away...
It is patient and forgiving
When all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
Even though the heart is breaking...
It believes beyond believing
When the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
Of the rarest, brightest gems...
It is far beyond defining,
It defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
Like the mysteries of creation...
A many splendored miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God’s tender guiding hand.
- -Helen Steiner Rice
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A Missionary with the North
American Mission Board, Sharon has a
passion to make a difference when it
comes to the commercial
sexual exploitation of children.
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Date:
Time of Fellows
hip at 9:30 am
Program beings
at 10:00 am
Location
Cropwell Baptist Church
2700 Hardwick Rd
Pell City, AL 35128-7495
Telephone: 205 338-7995
YARD SALE
Great Deals !
Great Cause !
(Haiti Mission Trip)
May 14, 2011 at 7:00 am
CHURCH-WIDE INDOOR YARD SALE
(Come Rain or Shine)
Cropwell Baptist Church
Family Life Center & Fellowship Hall
TIME FOR SOME GOOD OLE SPRING CLEANING!
Please bring in:
Household Items; Clothing; Baby Items; Furniture; Electronics;
Baked Goods; and more!
** Please bring in clean, laundered, sellable items to the church fellowship hall the
week of May 8-13....If you need to bring items before May 8th, we can store in
Bus Barn. If you would like to bake a pie, cookies, or cake for the bake sale,
please deliver by Friday night. We need everyone’s help to make this a success!
May 2011
SUN
MON
TUE
WED
3
1
2
I’m Christian
Class @ 4:45 pm
Missionary,
State
Sharon Fields to
Missionary @
Missionary,
speak to ladies
6:30 pm
Bobby Dubois
Morrow Bridal group re: Sexual
to speak to
Exploitation of
Tea 2-4 pm
Men’s Group at
Deacon’s Mtg @ Children in FH
6:30 pm
@ 10:00 am
4:30 pm
9
Baby Dedication
Service at 10:00
SAT
6
7
13
14
Church Wide
Yard Sale @
7:00 am
5
North American
5/4/11 Menu:
Missionary/Artist Chicken Pot Pie,
to speak to Adults
Broccoli &
Wednesday Night Cheese, Salad Bar,
at 6:30 pm in
Roll, Dessert
Worship Center
11
Meal 5:00 pm
DIG 6:15 pm
Bible Study
6:30 pm
12
5/11/11 Menu:
Pork Roast, Cajun
Gravy, Rice,
Stewed Tomatoes,
Salad Bar, Roll,
Dessert
Rehearsal for
Preschool Praise
Program
(6:30-8:30 pm)
BRING IN YOUR YARD SALE ITEMS ALL THIS WEEK !
PUT ITEMS IN FELLOWSHIP HALL. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF HAITI !
15
16
I’m Christian
Now Class @
4:45
No Choir
Rehearsal!
5:00 Haiti Mtg
6:30 Preschool
Praise Program
17
Knifty Knitters/
@ 10:00 am
18
Meal 5:00 pm
DIG 6:15 pm
Bible Study
6:30 pm
23
22
Graduate
Recognition
@ 10 am
Kellie Flournoy
Bridal Tea
1-3 pm in FH
I’m Christian
Now Class 4:45
29
FRI
4
10
Men’s Bible
Study @ 6:30
I’m Christian Now
Class 4:45 pm
THU
24
Ann’s New Life
Ctr Banquet
7:00 @ Beacon
25
Meal 5:00 pm
LAST NIGHT
OF DIG!
Bible Study
6:30 pm
Acts 1:8 @ 6:00
30
Love Offering for
Needy in our
Community
CHURCH
OFFICE CLOSED
19
5/18/11 Menu:
Spaghetti,
Shoepeg Corn,
Salad Bar, Roll,
Dessert
26
20
21
School’s Out
Celebration @
11:30 am
Sunday School
Game Night
27
5/25/11 Menu:
Steak, Baked
Potato, Salad Bar,
Roll
OMEGAS
Monthly
Meeting
31
2011 Offerings
as of 4/17/11
$ 285,169
Under budget by $ 24,227
28