Modified Wednesday Night Schedule for July and August

The Wednesday Night Schedule will be modified during the months of July and August. The Pastor-led Bible Study on Revelation will not be meeting and neither will the Sanctuary Choir. The Youth and Children’s Meetings will continue on schedule. The full schedule will resume September 8.

Special Musical Offerings Desired for July and August

Since the Sanctuary Choir will not be singing in July and August we would like to have special music on Sundays provided by individuals, duets, trios, etc. Offerings could be sung or played. If you play an instrument other than guitar or piano and would like to provide special music, we would love to have that. Please let our Minister of Music, Susan Irizarry, or one of the pastors know if you are interested in providing special music for one or both of our Sunday morning Worship Services.

New Fund—Building and Grounds Improvement Fund

At the March 21 Ministry Business Meeting the church voted to establish a Building and Grounds Improvement Fund. If you would like to give to this fund to make possible needed improvements to our present building (cosmetic changes like fresh paint, beautification of certain areas, improvement of the Nursery, signage inside and outside, possible reconfiguration of some spaces) please designate your offering to the Building and Grounds Improvement Fund by writing this on the memo line of your check or on an envelope for cash. You can also simply write BGIF.

Women on Mission Reaching Out to People at Ball Parks: Help Needed

The Women on Mission will be going to local ball parks during sporting events to offer gifts of cold bottled water and a bag of chips “Compliments of Richland Baptist Church.” This will be a low-key way to connect with people in our community with the prayer that these simple gifts will open the door to spiritual conversations and invitations to join us for worship. If you would like to support the W.O.M. in this outreach effort, they need bottled water, chips, and volunteers. If you are interested in helping, please contact Roxy Stewart or the church office.

“Effective Parenting in a Defective World: How to Raise Kids Who Stand Out From the Crowd” Starts August 4 

In this day and age, children face a far more defective world than the children of previous decades.  Every day they are bombarded with the pressures and influences of drugs, sex, and violence. Parents are left helpless, as every godly principle they teach their children is contradicted by the corrupt principles of this defective world.  But the truth is, God has a plan for effectively raising your children and you can learn it.  With penetrating truth and sincere honesty, Chip Ingram shares the life lessons from his personal experiences of raising four children.  He describes his failures and the challenges of teenage rebellion, and he teaches the principles for successful parenting as revealed through God's Word.  Effective Parenting in a Defective World is designed to revolutionize your view of parenting.  In nine sessions, you will discover powerful principles that will free you up to be an effective parent despite your surroundings.  Please consider inviting a friend and joining us for this wonderful and challenging study.  It will begin August 4th (6:30 to 8:00 p.m.) and will continue for 9 consecutive Wednesdays.  Please bring the children; nursery care, children's ministry, and youth ministry are all provided.  If you are interested in attending please contact Pastor Richard Lavoie.  There is also a sign up sheet on the outreach board.

Community Outdoor Movie Night at Richland, August 14, 7:30 p.m.

There will be a kid-friendly Movie Night at Richland, August 14, starting at 7:30 p.m. We will be showing th movie, “Aussie and Ted’s Great Adventure”. If the weather is nice we will be outdoors on the slope in front of the Picnic Pavilion. (If it is raining we will move into the church building.) Bring a blanket or folding chair. We will have hotdogs, popcorn and drinks.

Jun Rodrigo & Family, August 15, 8:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

Jun is with GOWIN Ministries (Gospel Outreach Worldwide Involving Nationals), which helps support pastors all over the world who are working in their own countries. Jun has been with us before and is an energetic speaker. He will be preaching at both morning services that day. We will have a potluck lunch in the fellowship hall at 12:30 p.m.

Men’s Fraternity Launches Saturday, September 18, 7-8:30 AM:  The Quest for Authentic Manhood

“Men’s Fraternity” will launch Saturday, September 18 as men begin to gather early on Saturday mornings to pursue The Quest for Authentic Manhood.  This is not a church service.  It is not a Bible study modified for men.  It is not just an imparting of information by a facilitator.  Men’s Fraternity is what its name suggests:  a brotherhood of men who challenge and support each other.  Men’s Fraternity started with a small group of men twenty years ago and The Quest for Authentic Manhood (by Robert H. Lewis, author of Raising a Modern-Day Knight) has grown from a handful of studies on what it means to be a man to 24 sessions as it has been refined through years of a “sharpening” process as men have met together to pursue authentic manhood.  The Bible says “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” and Men’s Fraternity has proven to be tremendously effective in transforming the lives of men.  A true understanding of what it means to be a man has largely been lost and even ridiculed and despised in our culture today.  Men’s Fraternity is a safe place for men to grapple with what it means to be a man who honors God in a society which often mocks both men and God.  We will recapture an understanding of the inherent nobility of manhood as it was designed by God the Father who made human beings both male and female for a reason.  It is time for men to reclaim the adventure, the dignity, the joy, and the danger of our high calling as “noble warriors” who protect, and provide spiritual leadership to, our families, our churches, our communities, and our nation.  Men’s Fraternity will meet in the fall, break for the major holidays, and then resume in the spring leading up to a summer break.  There are 24 sessions.  We will meet early on Saturday mornings for ninety minutes (7-8:30 a.m.).  Starting and ending times will be prompt and strictly observed so your Saturdays are kept free for other things.  Men, don’t miss the launch of Men’s Fraternity!  Mark your calendars now and invite other men (Christian and non-Christian) to join us.

Comprehensive Church Expansion Plan Adopted 7-18-10

At the July 18 Ministry Business Meeting the church voted to adopt the Comprehensive Church Expansion Plan presented by the Church Expansion Team. The church had previously (March 29, 2009) approved a plan to build a new building across Richland Road and to conduct a “Hearing from God” capital campaign in the spring of 2010 to raise the necessary funds. Then the economy went into recession. The decision was made to postpone the capital campaign and to develop a comprehensive plan which would take smaller steps first, ultimately leading up to the completion of our multipurpose community center style building across the road. Our new plan is to start with a remodeling and refurbishing of parts of our present building. Most significantly, this will include the development of a new Nursery area with dedicated check-in space and enhanced security directly behind the Sanctuary. Construction of a Welcome Center foyer alongside the present Sanctuary will follow next. Construction of the approved building across the road, itself the first phase of a two-stage building process there, will follow. (We will launch our Hearing From God capital campaign in the spring of 2011, the first focus of that campaign being the Welcome Center and then ultimately the new building across the road.) Please continue to pray for our expansion process. Please see both sides of the color bulletin insert in this week’s bulletin for floor plans and conceptual drawings of our planned remodeling, new Welcome Center foyer, and the multi-purpose building across the road. Updated displays will be put up soon on the Church Expansion bulletin board and in the Sanctuary foyer.