Posts by "System Administrator"

Here are several great ways to involve the entire family in missions this fall! Promote them in your church newsletter or bulletin. Print the ideas on sheets for distribution through Sunday School, community groups, or out of your media center. Have a brief fellowship time after worship to introduce the Candy Apple Bar idea. It might encourage families to adapt the get-together in their own neighborhood.

Neighbor Welcome – Is there a new family in your neighborhood? Volunteer to help unload the moving truck, unpack boxes, or collapse boxes for the trash. Let them know you love them because Christ loves them. Invite them to dinner after their hard day’s work or take drinks and easy-to-eat finger food since their kitchen isn’t open yet. Be sure to tell them about your church and what is offered for children and youth.

Candy Apple Bar – Provide apple slices on skewers, bowls of caramel, and toppings such as nuts, candy corn, mini chocolate chips, etc. Dip the apple slices in the caramel and then in the toppings of choice. If you do this in your neighborhood, invite other families with children of similar ages.

More than Enough – Help your children go through their closets and choose gently worn clothing and toys to donate to a ministry center. Choices Resource takes limited items.

One in seven people in the U.S. uses food banks to help meet their needs.

One out of six children (roughly 100 million) in developing countries is underweight.

Sunday, October 14, 2018 has been set aside to emphasize meeting hunger needs around the world. 100% of every dollar goes directly toward meeting hunger needs. A downloadable resource packet is available through Woman’s Missionary Union. The pack contains plans for an experiential hunger meal adapted in age-appropriate ways for preschoolers through adults. The resource is also available in Spanish. 

Once your church knows more about hunger in your area, you may want to suggest ways you can fight hunger together:

• Start a food pantry in your church.
• Enlist volunteers to deliver Meals on Wheels to senior adults.
• Join Habitat for Humanity and help build houses for low-income families.
• Participate in a backpack food ministry through an elementary school in your area.
• To collect funds for hunger relief, give each family a Global Hunger Bread Bank (these can purchased through WMU for $1.50 each). If funding for banks is limited, make them from potato chip cans, small cartons, etc. Go to Pinterest for ideas and instructions.

Christmas is just around the corner! As you make plans for fall activities, why not schedule a WorldCrafts party for everyone or for a woman’ group? Since everyone will be purchasing Christmas gifts, why not purchase items that help women around the world earn a livelihood for their families. WorldCrafts and its local partners develop fair-trade businesses that provide sustainable income while offering eternal hope through Christ. WorldCrafts products represent a life changed by the opportunity to earn an income with dignity and hear the gospel message.

Items vary from accessories, Christmas gifts, home décor, jewelry, and stationery. You can shop by artisan or by country. Hosting a party is a fun way to teach people about how missionaries are working with groups of artisans, some of whom are at high risk for human trafficking. Go to https:www.worldrafts.org/share for all the resources you’ll need to share WorldCrafts with others. There are free downloadable cards, prayer calendars , and all the resources you need to set up a WorldCrafts display. There is a Fall/Winter 2018-2019 Display Set to help you create a market and teach preschoolers through adults (set includes recipes, poster, flyers, etc.). This website is newly re-designed so check it out!

“Tell the Story: Bible Storying for Kids” is now available at www.wmustore.com  Sharing God’s stories with children has never been more easy and effective. A digital download, this new resource includes these tools:

• 40 individual Bible story sessions
• 60 different activities and games
• 8 strategies for sharing Christ with kids
• 5-day Bible storying plan for a mission trip, outreach project of VBS
• Ideas for sharing with children who are unchurched or from different cultures
• Tips for adapting stories for adults
• A Bible storying cloth which is shipped separately

The response to this new resource has been great. And, it can be yours to use in ministry for $44.99!    

The annual Missions Lifeline event will be held Saturday, August 11 at Calvary Baptist Church in Greenfield. The event is designed for anyone interested in missions involvement and learning about how Southern Baptists “do” missions. There will be a variety of breakouts to encourage local ministry, disaster relief, partnering with other for ministry, and hearing guest missionaries. A mini Kids on Mission camp will be held for children grades 1-6. Registration includes all breakouts, lunch, and an Invitation to the Journey, a missions experience for all ages. Special guest is Sandy Wisdom-Martin, Executive Director of national Woman’s Missionary Union in Birmingham, Alabama.

This is an event you don’t want to miss! Make plans now to bring people from your church. Register online soon at: www.scbi.org/missionslifeline

August is the month Southern Baptists demonstrate special support for our North American Mission Board missionaries as they serve across North America through a wide variety of ministries. It’s not too late for you and/or your church to participate by purchasing items the missionaries have requested for their projects and ongoing ministries.

Lists of items can be found on Woman’s Missionary Union’s website. Go to www.wmu.org and in Search type “Christmas in August.” There are missionaries’ lists for every age group. Choose a missionary and then print their list of requested items. Do not purchase any items not on the list. You don’t have to buy all the items though! Publish the list in your church newsletter, bulletin and on your church website. Set a Christmas-decorated box in a high traffic spot in your church for the items church members will bring. Box the unwrapped items and attach the mailing address label to the outside of the box. Include a self-addressed stamped postcard for the missionary to acknowledge your gifts.

Christmas in August is an important way to encourage our missionaries in their efforts to tell others about Jesus and his love.

Creating an awareness of God’s mission for His followers should be an integral part of our churches. Learning about missions is one part of this awareness. As we learn how God is working in the world, we will be challenged to participate as individuals, families, and churches. Following are some resources available through Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. The website – www.wmu.org – gives resources and information to help you begin your missions journey.

Additional resources are provided by Southeast Southern Baptist Association through its missions efforts. Contact Linda Clark, lclark1213@hotmail.com or call 502.595.8473 for more information about how your church can become more engaged in missions.

Age-Level Mission Groups:   Preschoolers, children, and students can learn how missionaries share Christ around the world. Each age has its own age-appropriate missions magazine and materials for leaders of the groups. Co-ed materials for children and youth are also available.

Adult Mission Groups:   Adults on Mission is a co-ed mission group with online resources. Adult women can find mission stories and ministry ideas in its monthly publication, Missions Mosaic.

New Mission Groups:   Starter Kits for any age-level mission group are available through WMU. Six month’s mission curriculum is FREE when processed through Indiana’s State WMU Office (www.scbi.org/wmu). Southeast Association can help you through this process.

Churchwide Missions:  WMU publishes many resources to help churches reach their communities for Christ and motivate members to develop missions lifestyles. Go to www.wmu.org/ministries for project ideas, mission experience opportunities, and how to support Southern Baptist mission endeavors.

33 Easy Ways to Do Missions in Indiana:   A new print resource (available via email upon request), this leaflet outlines 33 “user-friendly” ways you and your church can tell others about Jesus and support missions through praying, giving, and going.  (Email request: lclark1213@hotmail.com)

If you would like specific information about starting or strengthening missions education in your church, Linda Clark is available to explore avenues of partnership with you. Email: lclark1213@hotmail.com or call 502.595.8473

Now that summer is here, there are many children in our area who need to be fed. Just because school isn’t in session doesn’t mean they aren’t still hungry! Several county agencies provide hot meals certain days of the week. If your church is in a position to participate in this type of ministry, contact the county or district school office for information. If your area has no such program, think about how you could begin one. A centrally located church could cook and pack the meals and volunteers could deliver the meals to another church or park. This is a wonderful opportunity for your church to get to know unchurched families in your community and connect with them while feeding the children.

While children are out of school, it’s a great time to take them to visit local nursing home or care facilities. Spend time listening and talking to residents. Pray with them; write letters for them; and share Jesus with them. You could include some of these activities:

• have monthly birthday parties (check with facility about diet restrictions)
• provide music (piano, instrumental, vocal)
• plan a weekly or monthly worship service
• host holiday parties (July 4^th, Christmas)

Want more ideas? Order Across the Street and Around the World by Diana Davis. Visit wmustore.com to order.

Several churches in SEIBA are planning evangelism activities to reach out to their communities. Block parties, gatherings in parks, Vacation Bible Schools, youth activities, and other outreach projects are slated to make our churches more visible. The purpose of these activities? To proclaim Christ to the unreached and unchurched in our 9-county area. These intentional plans demonstrate the faithfulness of churches to engage others in gospel conversations and to minister to those in need. If your church wants to host evangelistic efforts, please contact Gary Yochum at SEIBA’s office for information about possible financial assistance for your projects.