Greene County Baptists are Great Commission Baptists |
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Click To See the
GCBA Calendar
of Events
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Associational Staff
Director
Joshua Hall
Director of Grand Oak Mission Center
Rev. David Jackson
Office Manager
Mrs. Shannon Peelor
Financial Secretary
Mrs. Burnace Smith
Ethnic Ministry Consultant
Rev. Samuel Gonzalez
Youth Ministry Consultant
Rev. Doug Watson
834 W. Battlefield
Springfield, MO 65807
417.869.2557
Connect with us on Facebook!
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CALENDAR
EVENTS
-March-
2 Resound Church Leaders Lunch, Associational Office, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
4 VBS Early Bird Training, FBC Ozark
5-12 Week of Prayer for North American Missions/Annie Armstrong Easter Offering
7 Cross Cultural Pastor's Collective, Associational Office, 6:30 pm
8 Executive Board Meeting, Grand Oak Mission Center, 11:30 am
11 Boys & Girls Pinewood Derby, Willard, First, 8:30 am
25 Mexico Mission Trip Meeting, Associational Office, 2:00 pm
-April-
7 Good Friday, Office Closed
9 Easter Sunday
14-15 100th Anniversary Missions Celebration/Missouri WMU Annual Meeting, FBC Popular Bluff
15 State Bible Drill, Ridgecrest
15 MBCH Branson Stars, Branson MO, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
29 Disaster Relief Hot Dog Roast, Glenstone, 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm
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Church Camp
To this day I still smell the musty dorms. I feel the thin, lumpy mattresses. I hear the squeak of the metal bed springs. I remember the sound of the huge fans in the middle of the night because there was no air conditioning, the taste of whatever imitation orange juice we had year-after-year (remember Tang?) and the cannon ball contests in the swimming pool.
I still remember my first cabin leader – a young man named Joel Childers. I remember Robert Gifford who led the morning Bible studies, and a lady we called “Grandma Deane” who served as the camp nurse. (Grandma Deane treated us when we were sick, but more often comforted us when we were homesick.)
I remember learning about nature, the proper way to fold a flag, and hearing about missionaries serving around the world. More than anything, I remember the amphitheater along the side of the river where we had worship services in the evening. It was here, with the sound of flowing water in the background and the sight of lightning bugs filling the evening sky that a man of God would open His Bible and share the gospel with a bunch of sweaty, rowdy kids.
And, yes, I remember the unmistakable presence of the Holy Spirit on that hillside. Even as a kid, you knew there was something sacred and holy about that place where, over the decades, thousands of kids and teens gave their lives to Christ, and many surrendered to a call to ministry.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, the place I am speaking of is church camp. Rachel and I both attended that old camp as kids. Later, we returned as teenagers to serve as cabin leaders. It was a special place to us. So special, in fact, as young adults I took Rachel back to that camp to ask her to marry me!
What is my point in telling you these things? I’m not merely being sentimental. I want you to see that church camp makes a huge impact on the young people who attend – sometimes life-changing! I know it made a huge difference in my life. I bet many of you reading this article have your own memories of church camp and would say the same thing.
Very soon, GCBA’s church camps at Baptist Hill for boys, girls and students will be firing up. Let me be frank. Each camp is in great need of men/women who will give five days of their time to serve as cabin leaders for our young people. We need volunteers who see this as a local mission trip! Yes, it will be a sacrifice. It may require using vacation days at work. It will be hot. (At least there is air conditioning!) It will certainly be tiring. But I promise you, when you see young men and young ladies give their lives to Christ, it will all be worth it!
Churches, we need you to step up as well. Promote camps in your services. Provide scholarships for kids to attend. (The fee is well below the cost of other camps.) Also, please consider paying the cost for any adult in your church who is willing to go and give a week of their time to serve at camp. Send them out from your church as a missionary to the next generation!
You can find more details about our camps elsewhere in this newsletter. If the Lord is leading you to help with our camps this summer, please call our office at 417-869-2557 or contact the respective camp leaders directly. We would be thrilled to plug you in. We’ll save a cup of Tang just for you!
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Pray for
Mike and Robbi Haynes
Mike & Robbi are asking the GCBA family to pray for them as they are off on an Alaskan adventure! Beginning March 1, Mike will serve as Pastor-for-Awhile at Community Baptist Church in Kodiak, AK. This is their Alaska kids’ church. The church has a furnished parsonage, so they will be living there while staying in Kodiak.
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RESOUND NETWORK LUNCH
Join us on March 2, 2023, at 11:30 am. All church leadership is welcome.
To register or for more information go to the events tab on gbaptist.org.
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VBS 2023!
Upcoming
Trainings:
March 4, 2023
@ FBC Ozark
May 6, 2023
@ Ridgecrest
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Executive Board Meeting:
March 8, 2023, at Grand Oak
Mission Center,
at 11:30 AM.
A BBQ lunch will
be provided!
Please RSVP to the Associational Office if you plan on attending.
Call or email Shannon
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Boys and Girls
Pinewood Derby
March 11, 2023, at Willard, First
8:30 am - Doors open
9:00 am - Registration
10:00 am - Racing begins
Email Doug Thomas at mallardduckdt@hotmail.com for more information or to register.
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Missouri Baptist Children’s Home
Branson Stars
April 15, 2023,
10:00 am - 1:00 pm,
at the Clay Cooper Theater,
Branson MO
Tickets are $50/person.
Click here to buy tickets or
for more information.
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Missouri Baptists have a storied and glorious history. One aspect of that history is the continuing education of future pastors, leaders, and missionaries from Southwest Baptist University (SBU), Missouri Baptist University (MBU), Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU), and now, Spurgeon College at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The MBC Historical Commission is excited to request your participation in promoting its annual scholarship offer to students attending or preparing to attend these institutions. The Missouri Baptist Historical Commission offers one $2,000 scholarship each to a student attending SBU, MBU, HLGU, and Spurgeon College. Each $2,000 scholarship will be provided through a $1,000 donation from the MBC Historical Commission and a $1,000 match from the school. Further information can be found at https://baptistparchments.org/preserving-history/baptist-heritage-scholarship. The MBCHC hopes that, beyond the potential financial benefits that students may receive, there would be an ever-increasing appreciation for Baptist history that will foster cooperation and brotherhood, even beyond denominational lines. Thank you for your participation.
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Baptist Hill Pool Donations given through GCBA (as of 2/15/23):
$11,325!
Thank You!
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-Church News-
Galloway is seeking a PT Youth Pastor. Email resumes to ty@gallowaybaptist.org.
Macedonia is hosting a garage sale to benefit the Baptist Hill Pool on April 15, 2023, 7 am - 2 pm. If you have items to donate or if you can help volunteer for this fundraiser, please contact Gary Camp at 417-862-7587.
Ridgecrest is hosting a Gospel Concert benefitting School To The Nations on March 10, 2023, 6:30 pm. Featuring the Hosea Bilyeu Family and the Mark Mathes Family. This event is free and they will be collecting a love offering.
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Grand Oak
Mission Center
Churches responsible for
food in March:
Center
Clear Creek
Glenstone
Pleasant Home
South Gate
Grand Oak currently needs
winter blankets & personal hygiene items.
(If you are not on GOMC's rotating list of churches to contribute, contact
David Jackson at 417-869-4818.)
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2023 Budget Financial Report
Annual Budget $400,167.50
Budget Received Budget Required
Jan 1-Jan 31 $42,306.83 $33,578.70
(125.99% of budget required received to date)
Income received for Jim Joslin Missions Offering $8,920
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Greene County Baptist Association Online...
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Keeping In Touch
We are using Constant Contact to send emails to Pastors, ministerial staff and churches. In addition, the online edition of The Connection is being sent through Constant Contact.
If you would like to receive the newsletter online, email gcba@gbaptist.org and put newsletter subscription in the subject line. Provide us with your mailing address so we can update our records.
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