I am preacher and I preach sermons, but sermons don’t make disciples. Our mission is to “go and make dis-ciples”. So, if sermons don’t make disciples how does the church fulfill its mission?
There are many things that sermons do; they inspire, educate, motivate and inform to name a few. People can come to know Christ as a result of preaching. As a result, I am a broker of hope. Sermons can help people reframe their lives from a context of despair and embrace hope and the love of God. Yet, they don’t make disciples.
Disciples make disciples! We have depended on the notion that a disciple is a student and the result is that we have become very knowledgeable yet disobedient.
If disciples aren’t merely students then what? The word “disciple” is derived from words that mean “to follow” and “to rub off on”. Jesus spent most of his time with His disciples and a small amount of time with the crowds. Why? Because people learn by imitation not instruction.
Think about it, who has been the most powerful influence in your life? Most would say their parents? We learned by imitating or the opposite by not imitating.
This is why I am a proponent of small groups (Sunday School, women and men’s groups, other Bible study classes…) where there is support and accountability among the members. It has been said that a typical sermon is often forgotten within 48 hours (depressing to a preacher but likely true.) So, if they can’t remember it how are they supposed to do it? Simply said, GROUPS help with this.
If I were asked to think of 5 sermons that radically changed my life I would be hard pressed to name even one. But, if I were asked to name 5 people who had influenced my life for Christ I would have a difficult time limiting it to 5.
Our Sunday services are our big event for the week but it’s not the most important thing we are to do. We are to “go and make disciples” and since sermons don’t make disciples we must embrace the truth that disciples make disciples!
Remember all of our teachers (of all ages) in your prayers; support them with your participation as they seek to disciple disciples. God grant that we not only be educated but obedient disciples.
See you on Sunday, Karl
Summer is getting close. And summer means – Vacation Bible School (VBS)!!!! What a great theme we have this summer – Roar! Life is Wild; God is Good. I know the children (and adults) will enjoy all the action and exciting Bible stories and lessons that will accompany this theme as they discover that God is good, and He will stay with them forever. Stephanie Wright, our VBS Director, is hard at work assembling her leadership team and recruiting volun-teers to work with the children. She is still in need of more workers (teachers and assistant teachers, crafts and recreation workers, food service staff, helpers of all kinds). So, can you help? Will you help? Please consider sharing a part of your summer with the children who attend Roar! We and the children really do need you. VBS infor-mation for children and for adult volunteer workers is located elsewhere in this news-letter and on our web site. Throughout the summer please remember and pray for those who are at work serving God here at Sandston Baptist Church. All summer long our Bible Study/Sunday School teachers will be preparing and presenting their weekly lessons. The adult choir, Praise Team, PowerPointers, AV team and others will be working each week to be sure they are well-prepared for Sunday morning worship. Extended Session work-ers, committees and teams; our Deacons and Deaconesses; Brotherhood and WMU members, the tellers; our pastor and other church staff; and many others will be making sure their work is handled appropriately and in a timely manner. And, of course, Roar! will be here the end of July.” I’m sure all of these people (and many more who do much behind-the-scenes work) appreciate the prayers offered on their behalf. We are truly blessed to have so many people willing to serve us – even in the summer. Now, where did I put my pith helmet?
Under His Direction, Mark
Wednesday Evening Bible/Discipleship Study: We have started planning for our Wednesday evening Bible/Discipleship studies for 2019-2020 that will begin in September. If you have suggestions for a topic to cover or if you are willing to lead a session, please let Mark Poland know.
Summer Singing With the Adult Choir: If you would like to sing with the Adult Choir during the 10:30 service this summer, please let a choir member or Mark Poland know. We’ll tell you about the summer rehearsal schedule and be sure you get a set of the music that we will be singing.
SBC Kids Wednesday Night Activities w ill take a short break on June 5 and June 12. We will resume with a summer kick off called BARF Night (Bring A Real Friend) on June 19th. The activities will be a little gross and we only
want to share this grossness with our real friends. During the summer, our activities will
run from 6:30 - 8:00 and locations may vary.
SBC Kids Summer Camp 2019 Campfire Stories will be held June 23-25 at Ed Allen’s
Campground in New Kent County. Please be in prayer for the campers, counselors, and leaders.
REMINDER TO RA’S
The RA’s will camping the end of June also, June 28-30. Douglas Milby invites all RA’s, their fathers, grandfathers, former RA’s to attend. It is
important to sign up ASAP as Douglas will be making final reservations soon. There is a sign-up sheet in the hallway behind the sanctuary
for this event.
Vacation Bible School is approaching quickly. The theme this year is ROAR! Life is wild God is good. The dates for this year are Sunday, July 21 – Thursday, July 25. In order to make this year a Roaring success, we need YOUR help. No job or task is too small and no amount of time is too little. Please think about volunteering your time and talents this year. You can contact me, Stephanie Wright at [email protected] or fill out this form https://forms.gle/JG9QQa1HEccBho1n8
You can also register online here at this link https://forms.gle/s1CNX8GXh8gn1iP88
We can’t wait to have a WILD time with you and your child so sign up today!
Summer is upon us! Please make sure you are part of our youth group mailing list
[email protected] or our youth group Facebook page (SBC-Fusion) to get updates on
youth events throughout the
summer. Remember SBC Youth is also on
Twitter and Insta-gram, so follow us for updates @sbcfusion.
Our youth group will be traveling to Jones County, NC the week of July 14-20. Please be in prayer for the youth and chaperones as we prepare for the week and while we are there. Youth will be working on homes in the Jones County area that were affected by last year’s hurricanes, as well as having devotion and
worship time each evening. Your prayers and support are much appreciated! If you wish to sup-
port us in any other way, either snacks for the week or a monetary gift, please let Justin know
YOUTH EVENTS IN JUNE AND JULY
June 2- Youth Sunday both services!!!! Our youth will lead both services and we will take time to
honor our seniors that Sunday as well!
SWAG RETURNS
(Summer Wednesday Activities w/ God) Starting on June 5 and continuing on the 12 and 19th participants for our trip will have Bible Stud-ies in preparation for our trip the following month. Each Wednesday night will start at 6:30 and go until 8! Youth who are not going are welcome to attend as well! We will be doing games, have a snack, and doing a Bible study that goes along
with our theme from Impact! SWAG continues in July with some fun group activities and Bible
study time throughout the summer, including Do-rey Park, Jumpology, Water Games, Pizza and a Movie, and more! Look for emails from Justin for
updates on coming events.
June 21- Kingsfest at Kings Dominion. Youth who signed up will go to Kings Dominion that Fri-day to ride rides that morning and afternoon, then attend concerts/speakers that afternoon/evening. Cost is $40 for admission into the park and con-
certs. If you didn’t sign up in time, let Justin know and you may be able to be added!
Our SBC Youth Group and I would like to thank Ray Crostic and all the members of the Sandston Baptist Bowling teams for their support and dona-
tion toward our mission trip. Their support this year and in the past has been extremely benefi-cial in helping our youth go on our mission trips. Thank you so much for your continued support!
Congrats to all the 2019 Seniors!!!!
HIGH SCHOOL
Parker Bailey – Glen Allen High School Emily Gurney – Deep Run High School
Jonathan Holmes – Douglas S. Freeman High School Thomas Hunkele – New Bridge Academy Michael Johnson – Varina High School
Faith Jones – New Bridge Academy Morgan Mitchell – Lee Davis High School
Jillian Schmid – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School Victoria Stevens – Varina High School
Mitchell Thomas – New Kent High School (Tom and Carolyn Palmore’s grandson)
COLLEGE
Alex Flannery - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
(Alan and E’Beth Watts’ son)
Jessica Caitlin (Caiti) Landers – Virginia Commonwealth University (Jessi Wilson’s daughter)
Rebecca Fields – Virginia Commonwealth University (Robin and Keith Fields’ daughter)
Emma Smith - Newberry College (Sherry and Bernie Smith’s granddaughter)
Shannon Blunt - Longwood University (Ray and Susan Blunt’s daughter)
With another school year ended (or ending), summer is essentially here before June 21st. Brotherhood will remain active, but less active. Considering all men of Sandston Baptist Church to be the Brothers with Christ Jesus there are continuous Brotherhood activities (teaching, serving as Deacons, greeting & ushering, security, installation of cable and cameras for security, tool minis-tries, deliveries of FISH contributions to FISH on Laburnum Ave., handicapped ramp construction, security on Sundays and other events at church, sound and video opera-tion, and more. The theme is many using God provided talents to demonstrate the love of Christ Jesus. There will always be room for more to serve… ask and you will be received.
The Brotherhood will visit the Sitter & Barfoot nursing facility at the VA Hospital on June 4. Sign up to attend this event. The bus will leave the Pickett Avenue parking lot promptly at 9:30 a.m.
SITTER AND BARFOOT
The next Brotherhood meeting takes place on Thursday, June 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the
Bosher-Gray building. Please make sure to sign up so that we can prepare for dinner.
The next Oregon Hill Breakfast will be on August 8th. This quarterly ministry prepares and serves a
hot breakfast for homeless men and women. In May, 92 persons were served. This Brotherhood ministry began in an August five years ago… a
fantastic experience in team work by experienced men and new participants.
Our ladies have been active and involved in several ministry opportunities in recent weeks. Cookies were baked and delivered to the faculty and staff of our three local elementary schools that are supported through S.H.O.W. (Stop Hunger on Weekends) and three local fire departments. Some of our ladies traveled to the Goochland Women’s Correctional facility and enjoyed looking at beautiful handcrafted items and plants grown by the women. All had a good time and they are looking forward to returning next year and bringing a few extra dollars to purchase some of these items! Some of our ladies participated in a prayer walk/community clean up in the immediate neighborhood. Hot meals for those served through the Blessing
Warriors homeless ministry were also prepared by some of our ladies. Come join us to experience hands-on ministry through unique, creative projects and activities!
Special thanks to everyone who made donations to the Pregnancy Resource Center through the Baby Bottle campaign and/or personal pledges and donations. We are waiting on an official total to be shared with us by the PRC, but we estimate that your prayerful generosity amounts to $1,100 at this time. We will share the exact amount in next month’s newsletter. Thank you all for your support of the PRC and its life-affirming ministry and for their sharing of God’s message of love and forgiveness with women who have struggled with guilt and shame and grief over choosing to have an abortion. Continue to pray for this ministry and for the compassionate staff who offer love and support to their clients.
Jean Jones - WMU Director
We will be having a covered dish dinner on Wednesday, June 26.
The church will provide fried chicken and beverage. Please bring a side dish or a dessert.
Following our dinner, we will have a guest speaker, Ellen
Stamps. Ellen was the personal traveling companion of Corrie ten Boom, the author of “The Hiding Place”. Subsequently, Ellen also wrote a book, “My
Years With Corrie.”
You’ll want to make plans to be here that night to hear all about Ellen’s experiences during those
years. We encourage you to invite family, friends and
members of other churches to attend.
Please note - we would like for you to sign up so that we will be
sure to make adequate preparations.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
2
5:30
Prison Ministry
3
2:00
Lowder Group
6:30
Men’s
Basketball
4 9:30
Brotherhood
(Sitter/Barfoot) 10:00
Lutie Suddith Group
2:00
VanLear Group
7:00
Williamson
5
6:30
Prayer Meeting
Women’s Study Class, Youth Activities
Discipleship Cl. 7:30 Adult Choir
6
6:30
Singles Group
6:30
HIS Group
Bible Study
7 8
9
10:15
RA Meeting
10 11
Henrico County Voting (Bosher-Gray building)
12
6:30
Prayer Meeting
Women’s Study
Class
Youth Activities
7:30 Adult Choir
13
5:30
Brotherhood
Meeting
6:30
HIS Group
Bible Study
14 15
16 17
6:30
Men’s
Basketball
18 19
6:30 Prayer Meeting
Women’s Study
Class, Children and Youth 7:30 Adult Choir
20
6:30
HIS Group
Bible Study
7:00
Compassionate
Friends
21 22
23 24
6:30
Men’s
Basketball
25 26
5:30
Covered Dish Dinner - guest speaker, Ellen Stamps
7:30 Adult Choir
27
10:00
Quilters and Crafters
6:30
HIS Group
Bible Study
28
29
30
EVERY SUNDAY
8:30
Contemporary Worship
9:30
Bible Study (all ages) 10:30
Traditional Worship
Activity Calendar
CHILDREN’S CAMP: JUNE 23 - 25 RA CAMPING: JUNE 28 - 30
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
Jodi Kulp
Bill Leyda
Velma Morgan
E’Beth Watts
2
Doris Ball Brianna Orton
Hylton Young
3
Mary Blaylock
Judy Christopher David Loving
Jim Middleton Holly Paige
Wain Sohn
4
Mildred Ammons
Stephen Bowling
Harvey Cross
Joyce Hardisty
Belle Philyaw
5
Rebecca Fields
Kelsey Meredith
Linda Tiller
6
Roy Carroll Judy Murphey
7
Johnnie Pennell Madison Schmidt Karen Skapin
Mary Ellen Tiller
8
Lisa Bolen
Donna Fisher Jamie Marshall James Vanscyoc
9
Julie Boggs
Bea Muncy
Kathleen Tucker T.C. Williams
10
David Hart Deborah Lloyd
Cristina Muncy
Jan Snow
11
Andrew Hare
Joshua Larsen
Zane Schultz
12
LeAnna Blake
Bernard Blunt J.R. Boggs
Jane Wade
13
Tracy Applewhite
Roy Coffey
Shelley Gravatt Steve Hudson
Marie
McLaughlin
Amy Milby
14
David Cole
Lewis Heilman
Kristin Meredith
Tracy Persica
Katie Snead
15
Dane Steele
16
Randy McKay
Ellen Weaver
17
Kim Hart MacMcPhail Judy Ninio
18
Jodi Bailey
19
Hunter Berberich
Joseph Davis
JoAnn Pearson
20
Linda Osby
Patricia Pratt Natalie Robinson
Roberta Sangster
21
Shelly Hunkele
Crystal Richmond
22
Robert Hughes
23
Madison DeProfio
Michelle Hunt
24
Kathleen Adamson
Michael Loving
Genevieve Quinn
Nancy Watts
25
Leigh Harcum
Erica Rochon
Jennifer Spence
26
Megan Childress
Mark Goodin
Trish Smith
27 28
Johnnie King
Charlotte Propst
29
Samantha Burnett Sandi Farmer Barry Martin
30
Paula Salyers
Birthday Calendar
FINANCIAL REPORT
Offerings 05/05/19 ................ $ 18,491.90
05/12/19 ................ $ 9,569.26
05/19/19 ................ $ 11,672.31
05/26/19 ............... $ 5,595.60
Offerings (May) ........................ $ 45,329.07
Offerings to Date ..................... $252,563.62
Weekly Needs ......................... $ 13,170.63
Needs To Date ........................ $276,583.33
UNIFIED MISSION UPDATE
Unified Missions (to date) ........ $ 12,438.00 Unified Missions Goal .............. $ 35,000.00
UM Weekly Needs ................... $ 673.08
UM Needs to Date ................... $ 14,134.62
During the month of June, we will collect
Banquet Homestyle Bakes for Eastern Henrico
County FISH.
It’s hard to believe that it’s graduation time again. Congratulations to all of you who have reached that all important milestone. It’s an exciting time for both high school and college grads as they prepare to begin a whole new phase of their life. It is our hope that, as they begin this new adventure, we can encourage them to stay connected to our Sandston Baptist family through a new and exciting group called “Pathways” led by Matt Bailey and Kassie Hayes.
Here is a word from Matt about this new group: Our College & Career Group, "Pathways", is a Bible study and fellowship group for college students and young adults from the ages of 18
to about 30. Led by Matt Bailey and Kassie Hayes, our mission is to apply God's word to the daily lives of our mem-bers and encourage them in their Christian walk along the path that God has set for them. Over the past several months, we have been reaching out to our college students via weekly devotional videos posted on Facebook and Instagram social media sites. We also sent small care packages to them as a way to remind them that they are in our thoughts. In addition to social media, we are currently meeting in the church on Sundays during the Sunday school hour. We are planning to schedule some activities for fellowship, outside of the church. On June 1st, we are hosting an SBC Youth Reunion, where all prior Youth Group members and their friends are invited to join together and re-connect. It is our hope and prayer that we can encourage these young adults and let them know that they have a home here at Sandston Baptist Church! We ask for your prayers that this group will grow stronger and spread God's love to our young people.
So here is what we can do: • Encourage your young adults to be a part of “Pathways” • Let Matt and Kassie know how much you appreciate their willingness to reach out to this age group
• Most importantly, pray for “Pathways” and the leaders
• Watch and see what God will do
See you in Bible Study, Bonnie Abernathy
We are happy that many of you are taking advantage of the opportunity to purchase the Item of the Month! We will be offering “Toys” for your shopping convenience beginning June 2nd. We are excited that we have been able to purchase soccer balls, pumps and needles at a great price. We will be selling these for $5.00. These are a great “WOW” item for your shoe-boxes for 10-14 year-old boys. There will be other things for you to choose from as well, priced at $.50 (jump ropes, tennis balls, puzzles, cars, etc.).
Looking ahead, in July we will be offering Clothing and Accessories (shoes, socks, hats, jewelry, etc.), and in August, School Supplies. September will be “Odds & Ends”. We hope you will continue to shop with us, but also look for items that will “personalize” your shoebox just for the child you are praying for who will receive it.
Good News, Great Joy!! Brenda Crain, Jean Jones, Denise Harcum