The Informer A monthly publication of First Baptist Church,

6th and Main, Batesville, AR 72501

First Baptist Church Mission Statement

Bring Them In ... Build Them Up ... Send Them Out

Abigail Lowery Batesville

Tim Laurence Batesville

Spencer Rademacher Batesville

Darrby Richardson Batesville

Ally Whiteaker Batesville

Katie Deberry Batesville

Katie Allen Batesville

Courtney Johnston Batesville

Taylor Dale Southside

Hannah Reed Batesville

Brooke Talley Southside

Reagan Sweet Batesville

Dalton Collins Batesville

PASTOR

“Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they ar-rived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bar-tholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in pray-er, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Acts 1: 12-14 After Christ had ascended to heaven his followers returned to the city and gathered for prayer. Christ had told them that they were to be his witnesses and that the call was to go into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world. How interesting that they chose to gather and pray before scattering to proclaim the gospel to the world. After they had met for several days an occurrence takes place in Acts chapter two, in which a mighty wind of the spirit comes into the pres-ence of all those gathered and thousands are saved. From that time forward the gospel was spread throughout the Jewish people, and then to the world by the apostle Paul. After they gathered to pray, God showed up & did a miraculous work. Too many times we are guilty of praying after we have tried to accom-plish tasks on our own. The correct sequence is prayer then action. The last couple of weeks we have talked a lot about our future ministry site, and ministry center. We have spent hours assessing greatest needs and trying to figure out the best way to meet those needs. Now we are at a point where we must make decisions, as a family, about how much to build, how much to give, and when to get this started. I will admit that I get very excited when thinking about the opportunities that exist in our future, and if not careful I am tempted to plan ahead of God. Starting in May we are asking our church families to participate in cottage prayer meetings that we will have all around Batesville. Sever-al of our church families have agreed to host these meetings on Sunday evenings in May. We will gather at these homes at 6pm for a time of fellowship, devotional, and prayer; sounds a lot like what they did in Acts 1 doesn’t it? I am asking that you try and have your family attend these home groups as there will be one near you. I am convinced as we pray for the Lord’s leadership in the decisions to come that He will give us needed wisdom to go forward. You never know how God will use these home prayer groups, we just might see a mighty movement of God like we have only dreamt about. Oh, that God would move afresh through our lives & our community!

See you Sunday, Bro Stacy

Dear Church Family, It has been a great privilege to serve as your Minister of Worship and Education for the past seven years. Batesville has been our home, and you have become our family. We love this church and have treasured our time here.

After much prayer and consideration, God has called us to seek a new place of service. Vickey and I are convinced that this is His will for our family and for First Baptist Church. We have made this decision in faith, as we do not yet know where God has called us to serve. At this time, we will likely move to Panama City, Florida as we seek the Lord’s leadership for our next phase of ministry. While we do not know where God will ultimately lead us, we rest in the assurance that God has a plan, and we are trusting Him for each step. In agreement with the pastor and personnel ministry team, my last day of service will be Sun., May 21, 2017. Please know we will always have a special place in our hearts for First Baptist Church. You are a remarkable church family, and this has been a won-derful place to serve for these seven years. I know that God has great plans for the future of the church. Thank you so much for the love and friendship we have experienced here. We will continue to remember you in our prayers as we continue serving our Lord.

In His Love, Bro. Charles

DiscipleShift - One of our Pastor ’s focus areas for the upcoming Cot-tage Prayer Meetings is to pray for the LORD to guide us as we seek to further His kingdom through an emphasis on relational discipleship—a Biblical method for reaching the lost and for making disciples who can make other disciples. In December, I wrote about key changes (shifts) we should consider in order change the church culture from being pro-gram-driven to being discipleship-driven. I would like to revisit the shifts and ask you to consider praying about them in May. The five shifts are: FROM REACHING TO MAKING A disciple is someone who follows Christ, is being changed by Christ, and is committed to the mission of Christ (Matthew 4:19). Discipling starts when we identify where someone is in their spiritual development and help them grow in spiritual maturity. We need to be intentional about making disciples rather than just focused on reaching people. FROM INFORMING TO EQUIPPING Jesus equipped his followers through his relationships with them. He had three (Peter, James, and John) in whom he invested most of His time, and 12 who received a good amount of quality time. There were larger groups such as the 72 disciples and large crowds, but Jesus seemed to focus most of his equipping efforts through small groups. FROM PROGRAM TO PURPOSE Disciples can’t be made in large gatherings alone, nor through church programs alone. Following Christ’s example, we should meet in small, relational groups to foster the intimacy that is required for Spiritual growth. Spiritual maturity happens through the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God. Jesus’ ministry was based on sharing life and the Gospel with others, plus connecting new believers to God and to other believers. FROM ACTIVITY TO RELATIONSHIP Each ministry in our church should be aligned in a way that leads to discipleship. We can see from Jesus’ example that focusing on relation-ships has more potential for impact on the kingdom than focusing on activity does. FROM ACCUMULATING TO DEPLOYING A church should move from being about attracting and gathering peo-ple to being about developing and releasing them. The ultimate evalua-tion is whether people are equipped and motivated to become disciples who can make other disciples. Please pray about what the “shift” might look like at First Baptist Church and seek the LORD’s guidance and direction concerning changes we might need to make. In your service, Gene

Children’s and Preschool

Ministry News

YOUTH

AND COLLEGE

Congratulations College Graduates! Angelica Alvarado, Lyon College Micah Graves, Lyon College Emily Holder, AR State University, Multimedia Journalism Stephanie Jones, Lyon College, Bachelors of Science in Biology Jacob Lowery, Central Baptist College, Bachelors of Science and Bible Katherine Melson, Louisiana Tech University, Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology Maddie Miller, Lyon College, Bachelors of Art in Psychology and Spanish Colton Rademacher, College of the Ozarks, Bachelors in Science and Nursing Hannah Stewart, ASU Bachelor of Science in Psychology Devyn Young, Lyon College, Degree in Political Science Happy May! Much to celebrate in May with sunshine, flowers, graduations, & Mother's Day! Please contact me if you'd like to buy a cooked pork tenderloin for Mother's Day so Mom doesn't have to cook and can be pampered. lori@fbcbatesville.org Speaking of mothers: this month I'd like to put the spotlight on a mom that has helped us immensely from day one. Mindy

Shaw is a committed FBC member who has helped for years with children and youth. She is always up for jumping in on a plan when she can around her full-time job and home life. Her

energy is contagious, and she has a great balance of "let's have fun" and "let's get this more organized." She has great wisdom in child development and easily steps in to facilitate spiritual dis-cussions. The youth girls really look up to her. Mindy has also made me feel welcome in Batesville since the day I got here: helping me with setting up my home, inviting me into her life and home and being a good friend. I am so grateful for you, Mindy!!! 2017 Spudfest Youth Camp Fundraiser Lunch, May 7, at noon.

Loaded potato bar and ice cream sundaes. This is a chance to see

high school grads’ accomplishments! Donations

will go toward the cost of youth camp. Thanks! Lori

By Baptism Julie DeLeon, 705 Harrison Street

THE ALPHA CENTER BABY BOTTLE BONANZA - The Alpha Center is raising funds though a Baby Bottle Bonanza in which donors are asked to fill baby bottles with loose change and cash. The Alpha Center is a faith based ministry with a mission to empower people to choose and cherish life through the love of Jesus Christ. We accomplish this goal through our various ministries. The Alpha Center is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. All donations are tax deductible. Our ministries include the Parenting Center which uses video-based curriculum for prospective foster parents, new and expecting par-ents, and court-ordered classes. The My Choice Clinic offers counseling, free pregnancy testing, limited ultrasound, and referrals to meet individual needs while sharing the love of Christ to empower women to choose and cherish life. Hidden Treasures Upscale Resale is the newest segment of our ministry that helps to fund the Alpha Center and that gives us another avenue to love and serve the Lord. Your kind donations of clothing, furniture and other items will be greatly appreciated. Proceeds from this year’s Baby Bottle Bonanza will help us update the Parenting Center curriculum, some of which is from the 1980s. Baby bottles will be available in baskets placed in the Worship Center. Please prayerfully consider donating to the Alpha Center!

Church offices will be closed on May 29 in observance of Memorial Day.

The Three R’s This month’s article is derived from a devotion I recently read in 3 minute Devotions for Women. I feel it is an important mes-sage to us all about the importance of the Bible to our daily lives. God has instructed us to heed His Word and to live by the Word. If we are not in His Word then we cannot fulfill this command.

Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord. Proverbs 16:20

Do you remember when you were in school and we learned the three R’s? Reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic. We believed if we could succeed at higher education, we could find good work which would lead us to prosperity. Education was the solution to all social ills. The Bible suggests a different path to prosperity: Heed God’s Word. The verb heed is defined as “to give consideration or attention to”. In other words, we mind what God says. There are three new R’s that can help us to heed God’s Word. Read it. The options for reading the Bible are greater than ever. There are a plethora of different reading plans and versions of the Bible so everyone can find one that works for them. Whatever we choose, we must read the Word in order to heed it. Remember it. Do you remember any Bible verses you learned as a child? I’m sure you do. Luke 2:52 is one of the ones I strongly remember learning as a child. And of course I would be willing to bet almost all of us learned John 3:16 as a child. Help your child as well as yourself learn and remember new Bible verses by: taping them around your house on mirrors, the fridge, your car. Pick up the family verse from the children’s or pre-school area and make it a family goal to all learn that month’s verse. You heed the Word by meditating on it and memorizing it. Respect it. We heed the Word when we obey it. God didn’t give us a list of suggestions but rather commands for daily living. You respect the Word when you follow through with God’s commands. Thank you to all the parents for bringing your children to the practices for the musical. The kids did such a fantastic job! I am so proud of all of them! Thank you to all of the Awana teachers for all of your help practicing with the kids and for helping to costume and corral kids before the musical. I pray that the musical touched everyone who participated in it or heard it in a special way. Thank you for your support for the kids of FBC and our Awana kids. Shannon

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 610 Main Street, Batesville, AR 72501 (870) 793-9859 www.fbcbatesville.org Return Service Requested Bro. Stacy Reed ................................................………...Senior Pastor Charles Dean……………...……..Minister of Worship and Education Shannon Fielder…………Preschool/Children's Ministry Coordinator Lori Rodgers…………..….....Youth/Collegiate Ministry Coordinator Gene Tulberg…………………………………..Church Administrator Phyllis Jones………………………………...……….Office Assistant Heidi Pantlik ............................................................... Office Assistant Diane Shands………………….………………………....…Custodian Bill Cox.............................................................Maintenance Associate

Non-Profit Org. 72501-2455

U.S. POSTAGE PAID Batesville, AR Permit No. 309

Happy Mother’s Day

May 14