News you can use...from Frio River Baptist Association

We apologize for several errors in dates for upcoming events in the original newsletter that went out this morning.

PLEASE DISREGARD THAT E-MAIL, and refer to this one instead.

Volume 5, Issue 10 | November 2022-REVISED

Upcoming Events

(PLEASE NOTE: All events are subject to cancellation or rescheduling

depending on COVID-19 guidelines at the time.)

November 2022

1st - OCL Meeting - 6:30pm

2nd - South Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meeting

6th - Time Change

Don't Forget to "Fall Back"

10th - East Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meeting

11th - Veteran's Day

17th - North Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meeting

11th-13th - Conferencia de Liderazgo

Texas Baptists en Español Celebration

(Waco Convention Center, Waco, TX)

13th-15th - Texas Baptists Annual Meeting (Waco Convention Center, Waco, TX)

13th-14th - SBTC Annual Meeting - Spanish Session (Corpus Christi, TX)

14th-15th - SBTC Annual Meeting

(American Bank Center - Corpus Christi, TX)

17th - North Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meeting

23rd-25th - Thanksgiving Holidays

(FRBA OFFICE CLOSED)

December 2022

4th - Compañerismo Quarterly Meeting

6th - OCL Meeting - 6:30pm

(location TBA)

6th - FRBA Executive Board Meeting & Christmas Dinner (FBC Pleasanton)

6:30pm - Gathering

7:00pm - Business Meeting/Dinner & Fellowship

7th - South Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meeting

8th - East Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meeting

10th - FRBA Church Administrators’ Fellowship Christmas Potluck

11:00am at FRBA Office

15th - North Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meeting

26th-30th - Christmas Holidays

(FRBA OFFICE CLOSED)

31st - New Year’s Eve

SAVE THESE DATES!

January 16th-17th - Pastors & Staff Prayer Retreat

January 24th - FRBA Tax Seminar

April 20th-23rd - Ladies' Retreat 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

November has arrived along with some cooler weather. Hasn’t that been great? At least for those who like cooler weather. Along with some cooler weather we also have Thanksgiving break coming up. It makes me wonder what it was like for those early pilgrims, after getting settled into a new country, then working hard to establish themselves, to have such a heart to set aside a few days to thank the Lord for all He had done for them. After all the hardships and setbacks, they still had a big heart of gratitude.

Here in south Texas, we as an Association of churches have not had a difficult year. Well, yes we have had our ups and downs during the year, but nothing in comparison to those early settlers. God has been good to all of us and for that we are thankful. Psalms 100:4 says it well: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name”.

I want to take time in this article to mention many of those who helped our Association in leading out with retreats and clinics and seminars and conferences. They were a big blessing and what they did they did very well:

Hadley and Sarah Foster in leading our annual Pastors/Spouses Prayer Retreat at Alto Frio.
Daniel Whitehurst in leading our Tax Seminar.
John Mark Harvey in leading our annual First Aid/CPR/AED Training Workshop.
Mike Barrera in leading our Deacon/Pastor Seminar.
Jonathan Smith in leading our Church Revitalization Seminar.
Duane Mayberry for heading up the annual VBS Clinic.
Jonathan Hewett in preparing and organizing our Church Teaching Conference.
Laurie Beth Scantlin (& her team) for organizing and leading the Ladies Retreat at HEB Foundation Camp.
Members of the Finance Committee in preparing our FRBA Budget.
Our Youth Committee for putting together our Progressive Youth Fusion event.
Members of all the Committees who serve the FRBA.
The Secretaries/Administrative Assistants of all the churches.
The Pastors, Assistant Pastors, Worship Leaders and Youth Leaders for all they do in helping their churches fulfill the Great Commission.
Laurie Beth Scantlin for all she does in keeping the FRBA office (and myself) in order.
Scott Scantlin for his volunteer work with FRBA.
To any others I may not have mentioned but did have a part in FRBA’s ministry, thank you!

Those early pilgrims had many people working together to make things happen. Each one of them played an important role in getting their new land established. We are similar here in Frio River Baptist Association: many people doing different tasks but all working together for the common good of helping to grow God’s Kingdom.

On this same note, can I encourage you to thank those in your church for all the work they do in serving their church as well as their community? The Apostle Paul in many of his letters thanked the people for their faithful service to the Lord. Let’s do the same. Somehow when we thank others for what they do, you are blessed for doing so and they are blessed for being recognized for what they do. It’s a win-win situation.

I thank you, those who are reading this article, for your faithful service to the Lord. It is a blessing to me to know you love the Lord and serve Him in so many ways. I wish all of you a Happy and Praise filled Thanksgiving.

Your Fellow Servant,

Bro. Loren

There may be times when neither Loren nor

Laurie Beth is in the office during our regular office hours. Please rest assured that we are still available

and ready to help you however we can despite

working from home.

We are always available by e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

and through our cell phones at:

Loren - 830-267-1234 or Laurie Beth - 210-854-9362.

COMING SOON!!

FRBA Church Administrators Fellowship Holiday Celebration!!

ATTENTION CHURCH ADMINISTRATORS, TREASURERS, & SECRETARIES!

If you perform any of these types of tasks for your church

(either paid or unpaid), this event is for YOU!!

If you know someone else in your church who does this, please pass the word!

Our FRBA Church Administrators Fellowship will meet at the FRBA office at

11:00am on Saturday, December 10th.

We will begin with a potluck luncheon, to be followed by

a white elephant gift exchange ($10 limit on gifts).

If you can’t bring a gift, or a food item, please come anyway.

There will be plenty of extras!

Laurie Beth will also be bringing some special gifts

(in addition to the gift exchange) for all who attend.

Come get yours!

This is a great opportunity for fellowship and fun with other folks

who do the same type of work YOU do to keep our churches going.

DON'T MISS IT!

Like last year, we will be giving away some exciting DOOR PRIZES including:

--one FREE REGISTRATION to our FRBA Tax Seminar

which will be held at the FRBA office on January 24th, 2023;

--one FREE REGISTRATION to this year's Godly Woman Conference (hosted by Cowboy Fellowship) on January 27th & 28th, 2023; and

--one FREE REGISTRATION for this year’s SBTC Administrative Assistant’s Retreat to be held May 8th-10th, 2023 in San Marcos (hotel costs included)!

You must be present to win!

Please call (210-854-9362) or e-mail ([email protected])

Laurie Beth with any questions!

COME JOIN THE FUN and make some new connections!!

AROUND THE ASSOCIATION

Did you know that Frio River Baptist Association

has online giving available?

Click HERE to make a donation to our general fund

or to one of our special designated funds.

Want to join the team at

Cowboy Fellowship?!

They are searching for a full-time Custodian and a part-time Concessions Stand Manager. Anyone interested should view

job descriptions and apply by clicking HERE.

I want to thank all of those who helped and made possible our

FRBA Annual Gathering at FBC Charlotte. The fellowship was great

and the time together informative and uplifting. We had good representation

from several statewide ministries. Great testimonies were shared in our time of worship. Cliff and PK Harden (of FBC LaCoste) shared of their life in ministry.

Larry Mayberry (of Queens Church) shared a very informative report on

Queens Church in NY, and J. Carlos Garduño Ramirez (of FBC Devine)

shared a very powerful sermon, concluding by having all of those

in the worship service pray together in small groups.

A total of 51 people were in attendance, including 18 pastoral staff

members. The attendance was lower than in past years, with many

pastors having other ministries to tend to. However, I am grateful

for those who were able to be present with us this year.

In conclusion, thanks to FBC Charlotte, Pastor Duane Mayberry and worship leader John Mark Harvey for hosting us. A hearty thank you to the kitchen crew for serving a delicious meal!

--Bro. Loren

FBC Carrizo Springs dedicated its remodeled Sanctuary and foyer on Oct. 23rd. Bro. Loren Fast spoke for the Association, evangelist Sam Craig and his wife Gwen sang, Richard Taylor of the SBTC spoke and the TeamKids choir and Santiago Lopez led worship. Alan and Linda Bohlen, from Hondo, were recognized in memory of her uncle Homer Martin, whose estate gift to FBC jump-started the remodel process. Pastor Jonathan Hewett closed the service by anointing the pulpit, a doorpost, a young man and a senior church member.

The project was begun in January of 2021. The committee members were:

Rodney Chitty, Luther Ward, Mike Thompson, Jeanelle Coleman and Gabe Ramirez. The church put down new flooring in the sanctuary, foyer and fellowship hall. Paneling was removed and walls and ceiling were painted.

The platform was enlarged. Pews were refurbished with new upholstery.

New furniture and cabinets were placed in the foyer.

Encinal Community Church recently had a fun painting event for their Daughter's of the King group and some of their ladies. Everyone had a great time.