Last Sunday, we worshipped with Calvary Baptist Church in Seymour Indiana. They were celebrating their church’s 50th anniversary, and it was a joyous occasion.

Will your church be ccelebrating an upcoming anniversary? Here are a couple of great ideas they did to make it special:

Pastor David Schrock and the planning team printed and framed a 4X6″ photograph of the church building, with text about 50th anniversary celebration (see photo above). An entire table held hundreds of the framed photos.  He announced that each family unit in attendance could pick one up as a momento of the occasion. What a lovely gift!

The Pastor had preached for several weeks on each segment of their church covenant. On anniversary day, they had a covenant renewal service. They printed a large copy of the covenant, and had a wide photo mat prepared. Each member of the church signed the mat before the covenant was beautifully framed for the church entryway.

Isn’t it exciting to celebrate God’s blessings of the past as we look forward to seeing what He has ahead for the future? Happy anniversary, Calvary Baptist.

I’ll be flying to Texas to lead a Deacon Wives training at Englewood Baptist Church in the Dallas area.  Please pray that God will use me to encourage those wonderful ladies.

Steve (my husband) will have appointments all day on Thursday with students at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, so pray that God will lead in using some of them in ministry in our state of Indiana.

AND I’ll get to visit with my Mom and Bruce, and family members there in Fort Worth on Saturday and Monday. Always look forward to days of enjoying my brothers and sisters-in-law and nephews!

Just returned home from the WMU Missions Celebration in New England. What a grand weekend! I now have new friends in six different states! The conference theme was “Energize” and I had the privilege to sharing ideas to energize the women’s ministry programs in churches.

It was such a delight to meet so many Christian sisters who serve in churches across the Baptist Convention of New England — New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut.  Such a gorgeous part of our country, and such a great mission field. I was amazed to see how God is moving and working there. Thanks, new friends, for a wonderful weekend.

Here’s a fun idea they used: DEAP.  Several times during the conference, a big bell would ring, and everyone would DEAP (that’s Drop Everything And Pray).  Each conference attender’s name badge had the name of an SBC missionary on the reverse side, and she was assigned to pray for that missionary, whose birthday was that day. It was short, but very effective. 

Read these rocks.

I love seeing all the ways our churches find to remind people of God’s love. 

Here’s a little surprise I discovered alongside an out-of-the-way sidewalk at First Baptist Church in Griffith IN.

Someeone went to a lot of trouble to brick the word “FAITH” in that gravel,but what a nice surprise! 

Little things matter.

 Last Sunday, I  saw fire in church.

First Baptist in Vernon had a note-burning ceremony  to celebrate the early payoff of their mortgage on their beautiful family life center.  Pastor Don Moore and the church family planned a touching ceremony.

He summarized the many ways the church has been able to minister in the community by using that building. They have an archery ministry with fifth through twelfth graders and an elementary age basketball ministry.  God has brought many to know Him through those ministries. They have a large gathering of senior adults from the community who meet for fellowship, and the pastor shares a devotional from God’s Word. They have a wild game dinner next month, and the list goes on and on. The building is not only used to enhance fellowship within the church, but to show God’s love to the community.

  He thanked the church members for their sacrificial commitment to pay off the debt.

Then the Pastor asked the four members of the original building committee to join him for the note-burning.

 They had built a wooden frame to hold the mortgage paper (or maybe it was a copy of it.) As those four lit the paper, it burned in just seconds, but the applause went on for minutes.

God’s people celebrating His blessings. 

Paper afire. Hearts ablaze. Oh, it’s such a joy to see God’s church in action.

Congratulations, First Baptist Church of Vernon IN.

Just returned from vacation in Colorado. Here’s a fun photo of my husband (right), son-in-law (left) and three adult children — all headed out for a day of fishing in the mountains.  We had a wonderful time together, and enjoyed the beauty of our great God’s creation.

Today I’ve been driving with my sister through New Mexico, then Arizona, then Mexico…just in awe of the mountains. Tonight I’m digging through dozens of Scriptures that mention mountains. Here’s a favorite:

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation,  my stronghold.  Psalm 18:2

What a strong, magnificent, creative God we serve!

He made it there! My husband is now in Kiev Ukraine, where he’ll teach a Christian Leadership class at Kiev Theological Seminary these next two weeks.   Steve’s a gifted teacher, and he loves the opportunity to assist our SBC missionaries (Mary Ellen and Joel Ragains) and encourage these young Ukrainian ministry students.  The last time he did this class, God truly blessed in many ways.  Please pray for him during these days.

I’m sure he’s having a yummy bowl of borsch for lunch right about now…

There was a downpour on Easter Sunday.  We’d taken a whirlwind trip to Texas for my niece’s wedding in Weatherford on Saturday afternoon.  Before we caught the plane home, we went to the Easter worship service at church with our son.

Easter is such a treasured day of worship for Christians, as we celebrate the resurrected Christ. Churches plan extra services, overflow parking, and often welcome the largest crowds of worshippers of the year. When the rains came on Easter Sunday morning, how would churches handle that?

The church we attended stepped up to the challenge.  As people exited their cars, they were met by parking lot greeters who handed them an open umbrella, instructing them to just give it to the usher at the door.  The umbrellas were recycled over and over as grateful attenders arrived.

In the churches where Steve pastored in years past, we purchased golf umbrellas with the church logo, and kept them ready for such a Sunday. Ushers would escort people–especially elderly and those with small children–into the church. The “traveling umbrellas” idea that was used Sunday, however, services the masses.  Will your church be ready for the next sloshy Sunday morning?

Keep on shining!

And congratulations, Jennifer and Stuart!

They’d outgrown their building years ago, and the church was breaking ground last Sunday on several acres of property that God provided for their new building.

Pastor Terry had announced that the groundbreaking for Twin Lakes Baptist in Monticello IN would occur “rain or shine.” And rain it did. A gushing downpour seemed to have no end in sight. As we stood under a tiny tent with the pastor and his wife, dozens of cars began to arrive.

Over a hundred church members stood under their umbrellas while Scriptures were read and history was told. The rain was so loud that few words could even be heard. The music minister began to sing “We Are Standing on Holy Ground.” The rain kept falling, but it quieted enough for her voice to echo across the crowd. The wet congregation joined in singing and the chorus grew louder.

Children huddled together under their mini-umbrellas, singing and grinning. Elderly men had tears running down their cheeks. A woman next to me said, “I wouldn’t have missed this for anything!”

In spite of that cold, drenching weather, I can assure you that every person was delighted to be at that groundbreaking. When those little children are grownups, they’ll probably still remember the “rain or shine” groundbreaking for their new church. Can’t wait to see how God will continue to use that church to spread His Good News.

Rain or shine…keep on shining!