FRANKLIN BAPTIST ASSOCIATION
S EMI-ANNUAL MEETING
APRIL 23
FRANKLIN BAPTIST ASSOCIATION
785 Butterfield Dr., Union, MO 63084
THE CHALLENGER
Franklin Baptist Association
PO Box 310
Union, MO 63084
Email: [email protected]
March Newsletter Issue
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Union, MO
Permit No. 1
An association-wide prep aration and in formational meeting
will be held each Monday at 6:00 p.m. at the Ministry Center.
Each church is asked to send at least one representative.
Everyone is welcomed.
Dated M aterial
Request in home service by February 26
www.truthandtheoutdoors.com
Postmaster
Address service requested
March 27-29, 2015
St. Clair High School Complex
4:30-5:00 p.m. — Registration
5:00 p.m. — Dinner
“TRUTH” and the Outdoors Expo
Evening Session begins at 5:55 p.m.
3............ Good Friday—Offi ce Closed
5............ Easter
6............ Ministers’ Mtg., 10:30 a.m., Ministry Center
7............ WOM Council Meeting
10-11.....Mission Celebration/Annual Meeting,
St. Charles, FBC
11.......... Camp Clean-Up Day
11.......... Sew Easy Class, 8-5, Ministry Center
12.......... Cooperative Program Sunday
14.......... Associational Bible Drill (tentative)
14.......... Youth Leaders Mtg., 7:00 p.m., Ministry Center
17-18 ....RA Congress
18.......... Celebrate Children Conference,
Parkway Baptist Church
21.......... WMU Council Meeting, 10:00 a.m., Ministry Center
22.......... Secretaries Day
23.......... Associational Semi-Annual Meeting, 5:55 p.m.
(dinner at 5:00 p.m.), Ministry Center
25.......... State Children’s Bible Drill
Message by Bro. Fred Broome
Pastor of Faith Baptist Church
1............ Associational Spring Rally, 6:00 p.m.,
St. Clair High School Theater
1-7.........Youth Week
1-8.........Week of Prayer for North American Missions
Emphasis and Annie Armstrong Easter Offering
2............ Ministers’ Mtg., 10:30 a.m., Ministry Center
2............ TATO MEETING, 6:00 p.m., Ministry Center
8............ Time Change—Set clocks ahead one hour
9............ TATO MEETING, 6:00 p.m., Ministry Center
10.......... WMU Council Mtg., rescheduled for April 21
10.......... Youth Leaders Mtg., 7:00 p.m., Ministry Center
14.......... Sew Easy Class, 9:00 a.m., Ministry Center
16.......... TATO MEETING, 6:00 p.m., Ministry Center
21.......... VBS Clinic, 8:30-12:30, St. Clair, FBC (reservations
due 3/19/15) NEW LOCATION & TIME
24-26.....DOM Winter Conferen ce, Branson
26.......... TATO Expo Set-up, 3:00-9:00 p.m., St. Clair
High School
27-29.....TRUTH and the Outdoors Expo, St. Clair High
School complex
29.......... Palm Sunday
The Challenger
Franklin Baptist Association
Union, Missouri
Webpage: franklinbaptistassociation.org
(636) 583-2639 office
James E. Pl ymale
(636) 629- 5600 home
Vol. XXXIIV
Director of Missions
E- mail: j amespl y@ aol.com
No. 395
March 2015
ASSOCIATION-WIDE
CHURCHES & MISSIONS
ALLENTON HEIGHTS, FBC
ANACONDA*
CALVARY
CALVEY
CHARRETTE
COMPASS MINISTRIES*
CROSSROADS
DULY
EVERGREEN
FAITH
FRIENDSHIP SOUTHERN
GERALD, FBC
GRACE
GRAY SUMMIT, FBC
GREAT COMMISSION*
GREEN MOUND
LESLIE
LIGHTHOUSE
MEMORIAL
MT. CALVARY
NEW CHAPEL HILL
NEW FRIENDSHIP
NEW HOPE
OAK GROVE
OUTREACH FELLOWSHIP
P ACIFIC
P ROSPECT
ROSE HILL MISSIONARY
ST. CLAIR, FBC
ST. CLAIR SOUTHERN
SHILOH
SP RING BLUFF
TEMP LE
TRUE VINE
UNION, FBC
VILLA RIDGE, FBC
VIRGINIA MINES
WASHINGTON, FBC
WOODLAND LAKES*
EVANGELISM & PRAYER RALLY
MARCH 1, 6:00 P.M.
Featuring:
Music, Testimonies, Evangelistic Challenge and Prayer
Held at
S t. Clair High S chool Theater
1044 High S chool Dr., S t. Clair, MO 63077
Following the prayer rally, all who are able will be asked
to take some time to prayer-wal k the school campus.
Please come to participate in a time of praising God and seeking God in united
prayer fo r personal and church revival and asking God’s anointing on efforts to
reach our area with the gospel through the Expo and other Church Ministries.
THE “TRUTH” & THE OUTDOORS
WILDLIFE EXPO
MARCH 27, 28 and 29
Held at St. Clair High School Complex
This is a major outreach and evangelism effort sponsored by our Association Missions, Evangelism and Baptist Men’s Departments. T he goal is to bring 10,00015,000 outdoors enthusiasts for an outdoors sporting expo which will have multiple
ways of sharing the “Truth” of the gospel with unsaved people who attend. We
believe hundreds could come to know Christ. We need representatives from each
church to attend weekly planning meetings and to volunteer during the expo. Donations are needed also. Preparation meetings are on Monday evenings, March 2,
9, 16 & 23 at 6:00 p.m. at the Ministry Center.
For more information go to: www.truthandtheoutdoors.org
Or call Rick Thomas at 636-629-5059 or 314-420-7541
or Mark Bay at 314-808-2783
From the Director of Missions...
Believe it or not, spring begins this month! It is the favorite time
of year for me and for many others. With spring comes the consistent and predictable annual renewal of nature, a beautiful and powerful testimony of God's design and power. Like nature all around
us, we also go through cycles of personal spiritual renewal. There
are times when we draw back and quiet down and then times to
renew spiritually. However, spiritual renewal is not as predictable
and automatic as the renewal in nature. In fact it can even be illusive to us. It requires our focus and effort to seek God’s refreshing
in our lives and ultimately we are dependent on God’ s grace and
work in our lives to bring it about. I hear many Christian leaders
speaking about the need for revival in America, and that certainly
includes the Franklin County area. I want to urge you to make it a
top priority this spring to experience spiritual renewal and growth,
personally and as a church. God gives us His conditions for experiencing this renewal in our lives. He promises if we humble
ourselves, seek Him, confess our sins and call on Him, that He will
answer with His refreshing and mighty blessings. Experiencing
Him in a fresh and genuine way will always lead to real spiritual
renewal and revival! I know I said this many times in the past, but
it has been and is still true. Let us seek that together!!
In response to this need, we are planning some special events these
next couple months that may help us with both our walk with God
and our sharing of the gospel. One of those events is on March 1
when we will be having our spring Evangelism/P rayer Rally at the
theater of the St. Clair High School. We will not have an outside
speaker, or a formal message. We will instead emphasize gathering together to praise God and praying together to seek God’ s fresh
moving and anointing on our lives, churches and evangelism e fforts in our association. We are planning personal, small group and
corporate prayer times. P lease make it a priority to come and to
bring as many of your folks as you can, so we can pray and seek
God together. Then March 27-29, we will be hosting our fourth
“ Truth and the Outdoors” Expo evangelistic outreach. This fa mily
friendly event is geared to drawing and witnessing to as many as
12,000-15,000 outdoor enthusiasts. We will need all the volunteer
help we can get to accommodate this large crowd and to conserve
the results of our witness!
Also, with Easter in April we will again have the special opportunity to proclaim the greatest story in all the world, the only message that can make a difference for eternity in a person’ s life. We
can also join in “ God’ s Plan for Sharing” the gospel by making
plans to join with other Baptist across our state and nation to share
the light of God’s Word by distributing New Testaments to the
unchurched in our community. We also have the privilege of praying for and giving to our efforts to take the gospel to North America through the Annie Armstrong North American Missions emphasis and offering. Wow, what an exciting next couple months is
ahead for us! Don’ t miss this opportunity to make an eternal impact in the lives of others.
If you sense a need for revival and reaching people with the gospel,
please make it a priority to pray for and to participate in these
events and be more intentional about walking with God and evangelizing the lost. You can read more details about these in this
newsletter and other publicity.
Until all have heard His story,
Bro. Jim
FINANCIAL UPDATE
We want to thank you for your regular finan cial support for
our association missions. If your chu rch ch anges its association giving, up or down, please report that in formation to
our offi ce, so we can plan accordingly.
*****************************************
JANUARY FINANCE REPO RT
Monthly Budget Requirement:
$13,925
Monthly Building Debt payment:
3,850
Total Monthly Requirements:
$17,775
January Budget Contributions
$11,985
January Building Fund Receipts:
2,339
Total Receipts f or January:
$14,324
Designated Fund Balance:
$7,605
General Fund Balance:
1,775
Ending Checking B alance, 1/31/15:
$ 9,380
Outstanding B uilding Debt:
$560,002
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR
NORTH AMERICAN MISSIONS
MARCH 1-8, 2015
ANNIE ARMSTRONG
EASTER OFFERING
FOR NORTH AMERICAN MISSIONS
NATIONAL GOAL - $60,000,000
www.AnnieArmstrong.com
Truth and the Outdoors
Expo Entry Tickets
Are availabl e in bulk quantities at discounted prices
to reach your community. (Please email
[email protected] to order tickets.)
These single day expo entry tickets, will only be sold in
advance and in increments of 10 tickets. For each 10 tickets
bought by your church, you will receive 2 free tickets!
We encourage your chu rch to place your church’s info rmation on the back of the tickets and invite lost friends, coworkers, and members o f your community to be your guest
at the Truth and the Outdoors Expo.
(Reminder…Parking & Kids 12 and under are FREE.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For the most up to date
T.A.T.O. Volunteer Information,
please go to www.truthandtheoutdoors.com
and sign up for the T.A.T.O. Volunteer Newsletter.
(Click on the Event Info tab and then the Volunteer tab.)
For more information, call: Mark Bay 314-808-2783
or Rick Thomas 636-629-5059
CAMP RESERVATIONS – Churches please call
the association office as soon as possible if you
would like to schedule a date(s) to use our Retreat
Center this year. After M arch 1 we will start allowing individuals to schedule dates.
Church News
PASTORLESS CHURCHES: Crossroads,
Lighthouse, Oak Grove, Rose Hill and Spring
Bluff. Please remember these churches in your
special prayer as they seek pastors.
DULY — Has called Andre Washington as their pas-
CAMP DATES
tor. We welcome Andre and Crystal to our association.
BOYS’ C AMP – JULY 6-10*
GIRLS’ CAMP – JULY 13-17*
SR. HIGH RETREAT—JULY 17
JR. HIGH YOUTH CAMP - JULY 19-22
DAY CAMP – AUGUST 3-6 (New Dates)
OAK GROVE — Glenn Hammond’s last Sunday as
*Note Boys and Girls have traded weeks.
Registration packets will be mailed in late May.
pastor will be March 1. Glenn is retiring and moving to
the Hannibal area. Thank you for your service Glenn
and God’s blessing in retirement.
ROS E HILL — Is accepting resumes for pastor until
March 31. Send resume to Pastor Search Committee,
PO Box 297, Villa Ridge, MO 63089.
S T. CLAIR, FBC — Will have George and Cathy
Chinn of the Mississippi River Ministry on March 15 at
6:00 p.m. T heir ministry covers eight states.
Block Party Trailer available to churches.
Our association is working with the state convention to keep and handle rentals of a block party
trailers for this region of the state. The convention has set a fee of $150 to rent the trailer. However, our association M issions Council has voted
to help our association churches that use it for an
evangelistic outreach by offsetting half of this
cost. The trailer has a bounce house, popcorn
and snow cone machines, PA system and various
games. It is rented first come, first served,
through our office.
"S EW EAS Y" Classes
March 14, 9:00 at Ministry Cente r
Project of the month “TAT O or Open Sewing”. A
donation for building use will be taken. The next
“ Sew Easy” class will be on April 11. The April
project will be “ Double Irish Chain Quilt in a Day”.
TRUE VIN E — Is seeking someone to lead worship
music. Contact the association office for more information or to recommend someone.
GREAT COMMISS ION BAPTIS T CHURCH
Bro. Joe Murray is the church planting pastor. It is
hoped to build a core group to start a new church in
the east part of Washington. T hey have worship service at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays at FBC of Washington. If
you are interested in helping Great Commission financially or with volunteers, please contact Bro. Joe at 636
-667-8084, or the association office.
VBS INFORMATION
VBS Director/Pastor Planning Clinic
& VBS Age Group Training
March 21, 8:30-12:00
8:00 refreshments & 12:00 lunch
(registration requested by March 19)
Location: St. Clair, FBC
450 E. Springfield Rd., St. Clair, MO 63077
OPEN FOR WALKERS
Ministry Center Gym
10:00 to 3:00, Monday-Thursday
NOTE: Calendar, Updates, additions and other announcements may be heard on KLPW radio (1220 AM) on Sundays
at 8:00 a.m. Weather related cancellations and closings will
be available on our offi ce phone answering system, ext. 411.
For more information contact Dawn at
636-629-2407 or [email protected]
LifeWay will return to the association 15% of
gross sales receipts of VBS literature ordered
through the association, to be used for local missions. Also, saves shipping charges. Please
consider this. ORDER EARLY TO INSURE
SUPPLY! Call our office for info.