Spelling Masters and Impact Makers

I knew early on that reading was a great passion for me and spelling was never going to be one of my strengths.  Not sure why my love of reading never overhauled my spelling challenges—but it never has.  My spelling skill, or the lack thereof, was confirmed post-college.  When I became a teacher, Sarah Smith, a sixth grader, gently corrected a word I misspelled on the chalkboard.  Yes it was embarrassing.  But we poor spellers can develop a pretty intact self-esteem.  Last week Sonshine took ten of our brightest spellers to the ACSI spelling bee.  I was nervous and all I had to do was be a judge.  Imagine that I, a wonderfully challenged speller, was now judging a spelling bee.  I laughed.  I was proud of our ten students; six of the ten placed in the top four of their age groups.  Sonshine Christian School was strong and we were proud.  I had another proud moment.  I received this note from a parent not too long ago.  I will share it with you so that you can join with me in thanking God for the impact our school makes on many families.  “Sonshine has truly blessed my family in ways I cannot even begin to thank everyone for. My kids aren’t just in a private school, but an environment that I know because of their actions, is pointing them to Christ. That is a testament to the school, but even more so to the teachers and staff who are interacting with them on a day-to-day basis. Teaching them the things that I was scared they wouldn’t learn when I went to work. My heart is broken that I can’t spend more time with them and be the ‘stay at home mom’ I always dreamed of, but there could not be a better place for my children in our situation. So, thank you! Thank you for your guidance, thank you to those who financially help so we could have a scholarship, thank you to the teachers and staff who love my children with open arms and point them to the cross. I could not ask for more. Sonshine School has blessed this mom’s heart in more ways than everyone will ever know!” I add my thanks to the faithful saints at SFB who pray for and support Sonshine Christian School.  You are the best and you make a difference.  For the past four years I have attended our Sonshine Christian School Auction.  We have a blast.  We auction off a large number of items in the silent auction.  And then in the oral auction we will usually auction off 30 items.  Last year we raised over $25,000 at our auction.  It is our largest fundraiser and every year helps us to make a difference in the lives of families about whom you just read.  I hope you will join us this year for the dinner and auction on April 11.  More information will be coming.  A thankful pastor, Pastor Mark _____________ SOUND THE TRUMPET:  ASSEMBLING THE TROOPS FOR PRAYER The Bible says that we are stronger together.  That is nowhere more true than when it comes to prayer.  When we unite together in prayer God uniquely responds because He loves unity (Ps. 133:1-2).  So for the next seven weeks we are inviting you to unite in prayer.  On our website will be our own Prayer Wall.  We will be collecting your prayers and celebrations of God’s answers.  You can visit the prayer wall daily as a family or at the office and join our entire family as we Sound the Trumpet and assemble the troops for prayer. How do you get your prayer or praise to us?  prayer@fbcsalem.org or text to 62953 (put sfb in the message and then your request).                               First Baptist website: www.fbcsalem.org go to SFB prayer wall     For past Focus stories go to.. http://fbcsalem.blogspot.com/

I Love Being a Part of This Church

New Song Community Church released a song, “I Heart My Church.”  They are starting a wave of people who are speaking out about their love for the place they call home.  Let me add a few thoughts from the past few weeks to the growing people who say,  “I love my church.” I love your sacrificial giving. During our Christmas season the extravagance of your giving was remarkable.  From our Christmas offering we took a check for over $4,000 to Camp Attitude.  The delivery team was a young lady (Holly) who served at Camp Attitude, a young lady (Annie) who attended Camp Attitude and their respective parents.  The directors of the camp thought we were coming to talk about serving at the camp.  When they discovered we were there to give them a gift, they were quite taken back.  Admittedly they thought we were going to give them a check for a few hundred dollars.  When they opened the card and saw the amount—tears were next.  They had a need that the staff had been praying for over the past few months.  The amount of the check answered their prayer and now they can purchase their new check-in system.  How great is our God.  I love your concern for life and compassion for people. Last week we delivered our check to Father Taaffe House.  This home serves four young, single mothers and their children.  The house parents, Zach and Gemma, are incredible.  They act as parents to these young moms.  In the context of a loving home the young mothers are nurtured, taught life skills, encouraged spiritually, and guided with gracious wisdom.  Each of the moms is in an education program.  What a blessing to see such a significant investment of love into these young moms and their children.  Their futures look brighter because of the ministry and love from the Father Taaffe House.  I love your responsiveness. Last weekend I was chatting with some young kids in our church and they told me they were going home with someone other than their parents.  Mom had a baby and other church families were coming along-side to support this family.  I know this kind of thing happens weekly in our church.  I visited a brother in the hospital and so did you.  He was loved and cared for as he faced a significant medical issue.  Church members ought to treat one another like family members, but SFB goes beyond that.  In the past few weeks I have heard of people receiving help with moving, finances being provided, budget help given and a woman going with her friend to a counseling session for support.  I love being a part of this church. Pastor Mark _____________ SOUND THE TRUMPET:  ASSEMBLING THE TROOPS FOR PRAYER The Bible says that we are stronger together.  That is nowhere more true than when it comes to prayer.  When we unite together in prayer God uniquely responds because He loves unity (Ps. 133:1-2).  So for the next seven weeks we are inviting you to unite in prayer.  On our website will be our own Prayer Wall.  We will be collecting your prayers and celebrations of God’s answers.  You can visit the prayer wall daily as a family or at the office and join our entire family as we Sound the Trumpet and assemble the troops for prayer. How do you get your prayer or praise to us?  prayer@fbcsalem.org or text to 62953 (put sfb in the message and then your request).                               First Baptist website: www.fbcsalem.org go to SFB prayer wall     For past Focus stories go to.. http://fbcsalem.blogspot.com/

Wristbands & Witnessing

At the beginning of the school year we did something new for our students and teachers. We wanted them to approach their classrooms, peers, teammates, and anybody with whom they came in contact at school with the mindset of spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. For the teachers, this presented a unique challenge due to laws prohibiting them from bringing up the subject of religion in schools. However, if a student asks them a question about their faith, they are definitely allowed to answer it. So, with the help of some stylish wristbands, some of teachers have been able to find plenty of opportunities to share their belief in Christ.
Middle school students love wristbands. You know those rubber bracelets that have the little sayings on them? They were made most famous by Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong campaign but they caught on as great tools for advertisement for other companies as well. Teenagers love them. Some students have been seen wearing ten at one time. TEN! Seeing how popular they are, we made some for the middle school group that said “Fusion@First” and “Carpe Diem Dei” (“Seize the Day for God”). Turns out, not only middle school students liked to wear them but so did Josh Thorp and Brian Blair, a couple of leaders in Fusion. Josh is a middle school math teacher and Brian is finishing his student teaching also hoping to be a middle school math teacher. They have each found opportunities to share their faith because of their wristbands. Students are so curious about what they say and what they mean that they are always asking about them.
For Josh and Brian, this is their opportunity to tell students that they volunteer in a middle school youth group at the church they attend. Often times this leads to more questions and deeper conversations all led by the students. Because of these conversations, we have seen many students come to Fusion from the schools where these men teach. Once they are at Fusion, we have the freedom to share the love of Jesus Christ with them and a few have become consistent members of our group. It took a bit of creativity to find the answer, but leave it to teachers to be creative.
I once had a math teacher who was trying to teach me long division. I asked her why I couldn’t just plug it into my calculator to find the answer. She took the opportunity to teach me a lesson about long division and about life. She said that in math there are multiple ways to get an answer and rarely is the easiest way the most rewarding. There are lessons to be learned by observing the process and by doing things the right way. The same can be said for sharing Christ’s love. Rarely is the easiest way the most rewarding. God bless our teachers who do things the right way, whether it’s teaching long-division or sharing the Gospel.
_____________________________________________
SOUND THE TRUMPET:  ASSEMBLING THE TROOPS FOR PRAYER
The Bible says that we are stronger together.  That is nowhere more true than when it comes to prayer.  When we unite together in prayer God uniquely responds because He loves unity (Ps. 133:1-2).  So for the next seven weeks we are inviting you to unite in prayer.  On our website will be our own Prayer Wall.  We will be collecting your prayers and celebrations of God’s answers.  You can visit the prayer wall daily as a family or at the office and join our entire family as we Sound the Trumpet and assemble the troops for prayer.
How do you get your prayer or praise to us?  prayer@fbcsalem.org or text to 62953 (put sfb in the message and then your request).

 First Baptist Website: www.fbcsalem.org

Go to SFB prayer wall

For past Focus stories go to..

http://fbcsalem.blogspot.com/