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Sep '23
For the Journey – September 2023
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Sep '23
“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:7
These are the words spoken to the children of God as they were taken into exile by King Nebuchadnezzar. This was the command of God to His people soon to be living in a culture that was not in favor of following God’s ways. Of course, to be honest, the children of God had not been following God’s ways prior to their captivity and thus their captivity. Notice that God sends them to a place not necessarily godly, but they were to pray for the welfare of that place. God did not leave them. God was with them. God even shows up in mighty ways through Daniel and his three friends. God showed up because they chose not to bow down to worship an idol or cease from praying.
God is at work all around us through His Spirit in His people. The world as we know it seems to be moving in not so positive directions. But, there is still a narrow way that leads to life. If we who are traveling the narrow way in Christ, will pray for the areas we have been sent, God will make Himself known to His glory. As a noted cultural theologian has stated many times, “It is always too early to give up on what God is doing.
”Thank you, Trinity, for your summer faithfulness. As we come together this fall, I pray we will deeply consider our next steps of faithfulness. God is so worthy of our living and only what we do in His name will last. I ask myself and would encourage you to do the same, “God, is there an area in my life to which I need to pay closer attention to obedience?” Our ministerial staff spends time together seeking ways to engage in Kingdom assignments and redemptive significance. We as God’s people do not want to be caught off guard with what is coming our way in these days in which we live. May the church be doubly prepared to shine like stars as we hold firmly to the word of life. Then, we will understand God when he also says, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Trinity Baptist Church will be a great place to be this fall. There are many next step opportunities available through Bible studies and small group connections. God blessed us with an incredible summer and I anticipate we will see His continued work among us this fall. The month of September will see many guests come on our campus for ministry opportunities. The Arts and Crafts and Car Show will bring several vendors as well as purchasers to our doors. The very next week we will see First Blessing bless children and families as we serve breakfast, share spiritual conversations and distribute new shoes for students.
God has blessed us with new space and it is a joy to see people filling it for His glory. Thank you, Trinity, for your faithfulness.
In Christ,
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Sep '23
A Way of Life…For All of Life
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Sep '23
“Discipleship isn’t a program or an event; it’s a way of life. It’s not for a limited time, but for our whole life. Discipleship isn’t for beginners alone; it’s for all believers for every day of their life. Discipleship isn’t just one of the things the church does; it is what the church does.” (emphasis mine)- Bill Hull, author of The Complete Book of Discipleship.
Bill is a speaker and former pastor whose ministry focus is discipleship and church leadership. For him, the biblical view of discipleship is “a way of life…for all of life!” That doesn’t mean discipleship happens by osmosis. It is intentional and has some level of structure.
Young and old, male and female, single or married – all believers are on a discipleship journey. What is the next step for you? Trinity U is one option you can use on this road to Christ-likeness. Below, you’ll find a few opportunities to grow in your faith. I urge you to deepen your walk by engaging in one of these classes:
Crisis 101 (Red Sea Rules)ife is hard, difficulties are guaranteed, but a way through is available! Barbara and Roger McCormick share ten strategies for following God in the midst of trials. This video guided series by Robert Morgan is developed from the Israelites’ experience of crossing the Red Sea, and will be divided into two semesters. $5 book cost.
Faith Driven Entrepreneur
What does it mean to be a Christian businessperson? Does your business serve as an active part of God’s work in our world today? What does it mean to embrace your call to create, and fulfill God’s purpose, for your life and work? Join Wayne Uecker in discovering what God desires to unleash through our work. Be encouraged to flesh out the purpose of your entrepreneurial dreams. 8 weeks, no cost.
MasterLife – The Disciple’s Victory
Cynthia and Royce Itschner lead the third book of the MasterLife series. Learn to gain victory over the world, the flesh, and the enemy using God’s word and prayer. The first two books of the series are recommended prerequisites. 7 weeks, $15 workbook required.
Love Like You Mean It
How do the ten attributes of love found in 1 Corinthians 13 relate to marriage? Discover the biblical vision of marriage and how actions and decisions drive emotions, not vice versa. Lauren and Kaleb Kurz lead this video driven conversation by marriage and family expert Bob Lepine. 9 weeks, optional workbook.
Writing Your Spiritual Memoir
Your spiritual story is worth telling. Leave a legacy of your journey with God for family and friends by writing your Spiritual Memoir. Bill Gray will guide you through effective steps of planning and organizing, best writing practices, and free publication on www.draftdigital.com. Limited to 12 committed participants. 9 weeks, $15 material cost.
The Disciple’s Prayer Life – Walking in Fellowship with God
Do you desire intimacy with God and effectiveness in your prayer life? Survey biblical examples and apply biblical prayer principles in this powerful small group study. You will do more than talk about prayer! The 13-week course led by JD Templeton will be divided between two semesters. $15 workbook required.
Please register today for any one of these discipleship opportunities by calling Gina at 830-895-0100. Room assignments will be made at a later date.
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Sep '23
What is First Blessing?
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Sep '23
by Rae Peschel
What is First Blessing? In 2015, Pastor John, Glenn Lackey, and Kellee Parish brought First Blessing to our church. I had no idea what it was, other than giving new shoes to children.
The Saturday for First Blessing finally arrived. I walked into the Family Life Center and there was excitement in the air. The committee chairmen had their committees ready to their assigned jobs. Tables were set and servers were ready. The kitchen was a busy place with the food preparation. The Chapel was full of boxes of shoes.
Before the doors were opened to the families that were invited, Pastor John had us stand in a large prayer circle around the Family Life Center. That circle included every age from children to senior adults. I looked around at all the people who had woke up early on a Saturday morning ready to share the love of Jesus.
First Blessing is so much more than a new pair of shoes and breakfast. First Blessing is sharing the plan of salvation with people who might have never stepped into our church otherwise.
Last year we gave out over 300 pairs of shoes. We had over 150 people volunteering to make this possible. First Blessing is a chance to do missions right here in our church for the Kerrville area children!
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Sep '23
Youth Ministry – September 2023
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Sep '23
The start of school always brings a renewed sense of energy and excitement, as well as its fair share of grumblings from students who enjoyed summer.
As we look ahead at the Fall, I would like to take a moment to share some of the wins we’ve seen over the past month.
We took 63 kids and 16 adults to camp and have enjoyed the excitement that follows camp. The connections we were able to make continue to grow as we look at what it means to continue to “respond” to God.
The new 6th graders joined us in August and have brought an excitement and energy, and it’s been a joy watching our older kids connect with them along the way. One thing I love seeing is when a high school student reaches out to a middle schooler to help them find where they belong. I think this is a beautiful picture of the church at large, as well.
We were excited to baptize Jackson, Wesley and Hudson and on the same day we had our Student Worship Team lead worship.
Looking ahead, we are praying for God to continue to work in and through us as we kickoff Circles on September 6 and September 10. Through Circles we hope to build new relationships and build on existing relationships to help us grow in our relationship with God.
Finally, I would like to say thank you to all of the adults who have volunteered to step up to serve with Students. We could not do what we do without the support of adults who love God and like students at least a little. It’s going to be a great year!
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Sep '23
Eagle’s Wings Home Group
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Sep '23
by Chuck Coulter
Eagle’s Wings is the name of our home bible study group. We meet on Mondays from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm for a meal, fellowship, and bible study. We’ve been on a summer break and “fire up” when school starts back. This summer break we’ve met every 3-4 weeks for fellowship, sharing what God has done and is doing in our lives and, as good Baptists’, a meal is always included!
This group of believers has taken to heart “the mission field” but not just in other counties but the Kerrville area mission field. In Matthew Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Jesus is full of compassion. He became a friend of sinners and ate with tax collectors who were seen as traitors and thieves. He visited homes of people rejected by society.
We have taken The Mercy Gate Ministries Magdalene House under our Eagle’s Wings. It’s a halfway house for women involved in sex trafficking and drug abuse. God has given us hearts on fire to teach and show them that we care. We give a cooking class once a month at the group home and we get to eat what was prepared with the women. Most of the women have little experience with “normal” daily activities like cooking. Their director asked that we come as Christian husband and wife teams to show and teach them how Godly relationships should be. We donate toiletries, bedding, and other daily needs. Jesus is our example of how we are to act starting in our communities. All of us in Eagles’ Wings have stepped out of our comfort zones and safe place here at Trinity by “hanging out” with the tax collectors and the people rejected by our society. We in our current group; Julie Anne Witte, Tim and Violet Mathias, Lew and Jane King, Jeff and Susan Stone, Missy Coulter and I are blessed serving this group in God’s Kingdom.
Eagles’ Wings uses various Bible book video series from Right Now Media for their weekly study.
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Sep '23
Grief Share – September 2023
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Sep '23
by Pattie Davis
You are warmly invited to come on Monday morning, September 11, at 10 a.m. in Room 221 (older part of building, above gym), and subsequent Mondays, and allow us to share God’s healing love, as you work through the difficult life challenge we call GRIEF. We use a workbook, view DVDs, and have interesting and stimulating discussions. We can show you just how alone you are NOT.
Please join us and bring a friend. To register, or if you have questions, you may call Gina at 830-895-0100, or Pattie Davis at 512-940-1689. Material cost is $20, you may repeat any session or semester without a fee.
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Aug '23
For the Journey – August 2023
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Aug '23
The summer is certainly hot … for ministry opportunities. As the temperature increases in numbers, so have the people who have begun to follow Jesus as His brothers and sisters. July has seen both Horizon Youth Camp and Alto Frio Preteen Camp come and go. Neither went by without making very significant changes in the lives of both adults and students. We had youth and preteen campers come back home different than when they left for camp. What a blessing. We hope to celebrate baptisms for the remainder of the summer months as we fill the baptistry with water. Praise the LORD!
The summer winding down means that school is ramping up. On August 13th at 4:30 pm we will gather at the church and distribute some written prayer sheets for our schools, teachers, and students. We will then travel to schools in our area to prayer walk the perimeter praying over all that God intends to do this year in students’ lives. We are trying to find a prayer captain for each campus who will in turn rally others to join them in praying. If you live near a school, and want to just travel to the school around 5:00, we hope to arrive and begin praying then. If you can’t make it to a campus or are not up to prayer walking, we will also have a group of people praying over all the schools through a media presentation in our Family Life Center led by Sue Owens (for those who need air conditioning). We will have water and information to distribute at 4:30 when we gather. Come and help us pray on site with insight.
God is faithful. We live in a time when it is easy to get discouraged. Remember, God is not surprised by what is taking place. He has assembled His Church to make a difference in these days. We can not only live in this culture at odds with what we believe, but we can actually thrive in this culture as well. Be faithful to serve and move as the Body of Christ. Let’s commit ourselves again to make a difference as we pool our stewardship for God’s glory and use our talents and gifts to serve Christ.
I am blessed to start year twelve as Trinity Baptist Church’s pastor but even more blessed to get to travel these days alongside you. You are an amazing people of God. It will be amazing to witness together what God has in store for us.
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
In Christ,
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Aug '23
Youth Ministry – August 2023
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Aug '23
July was an incredible month! We were able to take a total of 79 people to camp. Our word for the week was “respond”, and our group did a great job responding to how God was leading them. Thank you to everyone who got a prayer card and prayed for a camper. I truly believe we could not have had the week we had without our Trinity family praying for us.Next, I would like to take a moment to brag on the adult sponsors we took with us.
Our female sponsors were: Sharron Hawk, Mica Henson, Marilyn Johnson, Melissa Morris, Shelby Peschel, Abbey Elliston, Lauren Tripp, Cailin Powell and Ryia Neuman. Our male sponsors were: Rick Boles, Clark Elliston, Riley Gordon, James Tripp, Caleb Boone and JD Templeton. These fifteen adults went above and beyond all week in so many ways. They were such a blessing as they endured the heat, poured into our students, and continually pointed our group to Christ. If you see one of these incredible adults around, please be sure to say thank you.
Finally, as we look at the beginning of school and Incoming 6th Grade Promotion, if you are interested in serving in the Student Ministry, please let me know. We have needs in a variety of areas, and some areas we don’t even know yet! I would love to sit down with you and have a conversation about what role you might could play in the Student Ministry of Trinity Baptist Church.
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Aug '23
Children’s Day Out (CDO)
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Aug '23
by Jaime Riordan
Summer is winding down and we are gearing up to start another year of CDO, our Children’s Day Out program here at Trinity. We love offering a two day a week option on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s for parents who are seeking out opportunities to introduce their children to an affordable school setting without a full time commitment.
While children do learn their colors, numbers, and letters while here are at CDO, we also get to help lay a biblical foundation by teaching them about God’s love for them, as well as how ordinary people played key roles throughout the Bible. We have monthly Bible verses and focus on individual people of the Bible throughout the year. I believe this will be my tenth year at CDO and there is something so special about going back to the basics of God’s love each year with these children. I get to be reminded over and over, right alongside them.
Each week children not only get to learn and grow in their classrooms, but they get to learn from our Trinity staff during chapel, they get to run around and work on gross motor skills in the gym. We have library time focusing on books and songs and we are looking forward to seeing how we can best use our outdoor space for some hands-on learning.
Please join me in praying for the teachers and for each child that will come through the doors this year. It is sure to be a great one!
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