Lloyd's On-Lines (archive)

Posted May 2, 2008

This is a great time of the year. The weather is warming up and the flowers are blooming. Some of us were able to enjoy the outdoors last week-end with our Spring Camping Trip at Jordan Lake. There were about 60 of us who took part at least to some degree. I just came up for the day on Saturday. Madison persuaded me to go swimming! This was my first time ever swimming in April. The weather was nice, but the water was COLD! It is always a lot of fun to get away to the lake and enjoy one another’s company. It’s a great way to get to know one another better. Go ahead and mark your calendar for our summer camping trip. It will be August 15-17.

As we move in to May we have some exciting events planned:

• May 4th Youth will lead in 8:30 and 11:00 worship services
• May 11th Mother’s Day and Pentecost Sunday
• May 16th “Swing into Spring” with Big Band era music by NC
  Revelers Orchestra in our gym. Donations from event will go to our music and youth programs.
• May 18th Homecoming – Guest Speaker Jimmy “Hambone” Camp
• May 21st Steven Porter, former executive director for Touching Miami with Love, to share at Wed night service.
• May 28th Children & Youth Mission groups to share at the Wednesday Night service.
  
  Finally, as I am writing this, I am preparing for my last sermon of the “It’s Time” study. I hope you have gotten as much out of this study as I have and I hope we can agree that it’s time to move forward as a missional church. The image of Christians and particularly Baptist isn’t good. To be missional we must work to overcome that. We must focus on spiritual formations; prayer; being the presence of Christ; the Great Commission; social justice and mercy; being true to our Baptist heritage and having real hope. Let’s commit to be missionaries in our homes, in our workplace, in our communities, at church and wherever God may lead us to go. As I shared Sunday, as Baptist we believe in the priesthood of all believers. Every member is a ministers!! Let’s go forth and minister to a world in need!

Posted April 4, 2008

This week I have continued to be reminded of the importance of loving God and loving others. This really began on Sunday, as I was preaching about the missional church. For several weeks we have been studying what it means to be a missional church. This Sunday the theme related to discovering and fulfilling our church’s God-given mission. I asked the question, “What is the purpose of the church?” I shared that the church has different purposes: worship, discipleship, Christian community (family) and serving others within the church and within the community. The missional church and missional Christians grow through their experiences of worship, discipleship and through their connection with other Christians in the community. We are then empowered to serve God and others. We are to look at where we are and how God can use us to make a difference. I basically said, “what it really boils down to is we are to love God completely and seek to love others the way that God does.” When Jesus was asked, “what is the greatest commandment? He responded “love God with your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” As we fully love God and love others we will be missional.

This theme came up with me again on Tuesday as I was having a devotion time. I was reading a writing / prayer from Thomas More in which he included the statement, “to think my most enemies my best friend.” To see our enemies as our best friend takes us loving God in such a way that he gives us greater love for others. I hope we can work toward that goal.
Wednesday, I was reading another devotion that focused on loving God. Francois Fenelon wrote, “The more one loves God, the more one is content. ... There is only one way to love God: to take not a single step without him, and to follow with a brave heart wherever he leads.”

On Wednesday nights we are doing a study in the book of Mark. Guess what the passage was for this Wednesday? You probably guessed it, it is the passage where Jesus shares the greatest commandment and the second greatest – love God, love others. This study was the next lesson we were scheduled to study! Also this week I came across a button in my office. I haven’t seen it for months. It was one that I got when Bart Campolo was at our church about a year ago. It states “love God love people nothing else matters”

With this theme continuing to come up in my life, I think God is trying to get my attention. I also feel that it is a word that I am to pass on to you. We can get so focused on different things in our life. We can get focused on lots of different things within the church. Often our focus turns to ourselves – what we want, how we want things to be. We really can be self-centered. This leads us to look at the world through the lenses of how things are not the way that I want them to be and how bad life is. As we take the focus off of ourselves and focus on God and others, we can gain a greater peace, greater joy and even a greater happiness. So God’s word for me seems to be that it is time to refocus “love God, love others.” I think that is God’s word for you as well.

Posted March 21, 2008

Embrace The World - Easter Mission Offering

One Missionary’s Story
Arab American Friendship Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Nomie Derani

At the Arab American Friendship Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., 30 women crowd into a small classroom with only 20 chairs. Their desire to learn and fellowship together is so great that they are willing to spend several hours standing along the wall or sit two to a seat. Four mornings a week, the Friendship Center offers classes for Arab women in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. The Friendship Center not only provides classes on English and citizenship but also offers a place of hope and affirmation in a foreign culture.

Derani, one of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Global Missions field personnel, moved to Brooklyn in 2004 and started the Friendship Center. A native of Lebanon, Derani considers herself an evangelist.

One couple who visited the Center couldn’t afford a clean living environment to raise their two girls and they knew a government agency might soon remove the children from their home. The woman sought out Derani’s help, and the Friendship Center began providing counseling for the family and arranged for volunteers to paint and clean the home. Derani said the woman started crying. “She told us that the [people] at the mosque were ashamed of coming to visit her,” Derani said. “She said to me, ‘And look at you – we think you are our enemies, but you are cleaning my house. Not only this, but you are taking care of me and my husband.’”

The Friendship Center and Derani’s ministry are directly funded by gifts to the CBF Offering for Global Missions. As Fellowship Baptists continue to give, Derani’s ministry is able to grow. “I praise God for CBF, and for the partners of CBF who are supporting us in a way that is freeing me to be able to help these people,” Derani said. “It is a blessing to be able to see someone in need, and [be] able to help. Can I express it enough? I will never be able.”

Consider giving to the Easter Offering
You may designate your gift for either CBF or SBC Mission Offering. By giving you will show your support to our missionaries.

Posted March 1, 2008

IT'S TIME: A Journey Toward Missional Faithfulness
We will have a church wide study on being missional (or missionary) as individuals and as a church. The study will begin this Sunday, March 2nd. Our worship themes will be built around the study and it will also be used in some Sunday School classes and small groups. Weekly themes are: An urgent call to Christian Mission; Spiritual Formation; Prayer; Churches discovering and fulfilling their God-given mission; the Great Commission; Justice & Mercy; the Baptist Heritage and Witness; and Hope.

Five Sunday School Classes will be participating in the It’s Time study: the Challengers, Covenant, Modern Disciples, Pairs and Spares, and Truth classes. We are inviting anyone who does not have a regular Sunday School class to join one of these groups.

There will also be two small groups for individuals who can not participate during the Sunday School time frame. Lloyd Braswell will lead a group Tuesdays at 10:00AM in the Family Life Center; and Jenny Deese will lead a group on Thursday at 6:00PM. These groups will also begin this week.

The Crop Walk is on March 16th!

The Crop Walk is coming up on Sunday, March 16th. The walk begins and ends at Duke Chapel. The Modern Disciples class is ready to defend its title! If you are interested in walking, please pick up a t-shirt and information packet from the front pew in the sanctuary on the piano side. 75 % of the money raised will be used for World Hunger needs, 25% will be used to help with local hunger.

Posted February 22, 2008

This Sunday we will have two big events at church:

FIRST - Sunday is Women’s Day. Our women will lead in the 8:30 and 11:00 services. Vicki and Roger Grossman, missionaries to Guatemala will be our guest speakers.

SECOND - We will host a regional CBF worship / training event focused on Loving Muslims in the Name of Jesus. Butch & Nell Green, missionaries working to connect churches in the Carolinas with Muslims will lead in this service. This is a great opportunity to learn about how we can build relationships, love and reach out to Muslims. There are about 9,500 Muslims that live in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill area.

Then from February 29th until March 1st – the Renovare Conference will be at Chapel Hill Bible Church. This is a Spiritual Formation week-end and a great opportunity for personal Christian growth. The registration is $70.00 and the church will pay half. Call the church office for more information or to sign up.

Posted February 15, 2008

This past Sunday night, we had our annual Valentine’s Banquet. I was unable to attend, but I have been hearing about it. I understand that it was a lot of fun. Thanks to the Family Ministries team and everyone involved in planning and taking part in that event.

As most of you know, the reason that I missed the Banquet was because my grandmother died. We had the visitation on Sunday night and the funeral on Monday. The service was a celebration of her life. She was 92 years old and had lived the last three years with my parents. My grandmother was one of the most committed Christians you could ever meet. She was usually quiet, but loved to be around people. Every morning she would read her Bible and have her prayer time. She had a gentle caring spirit. Her priorities were in order. She loved God. She loved family. She loved everyone. I hope that as I reflect on her life that she will continue to influence me. It is great to have people in our lives like Grandmamma.

Let me close by reminding you of some upcoming events.

February 24th Women’s Day. Our women will lead in the 8:30 & 11:00
services. Vicki and Roger Grossman, missionaries to Guatemala will be our guest speakers.

February 24th 5:00 – We will host a regional CBF worship / training event
focused on Loving Muslims in the Name of Jesus. Butch & Nell Green, missionaries working to connect churches in the Carolinas with Muslims will lead in this service.

February 29 – March 1 – Renovare Conference at Chapel Hill Bible Church.

Posted February 6, 2008

Our church family really enjoys having fun together. It may be through worship, Sunday School, or a small group. It may be in one of the pot luck dinners or camping at Jordan Lake. Over the past several years we have had lots of fun and laughs at our Valentine Banquet which has included the "Newly"wed Game. Well, the family ministry  team decided to make some changes this year’s banquet will be different, but one thing is for sure it will be a lot of FUN! I hope you can join us this Sunday night at 6:00 for dinner and a show. Thanks to the family ministry team for planning and coordinating this event.

February 24th will be a big day around Hope Valley. We will have missionary speakers at 8:30, 11:00 and then at 5:00PM. It will be Women’s Day and the women of our church will be leading in the 8:30 and 11:00 worship services. Vicki and Roger Grossman, who are missionaries in Guatemala, will be our guest speakers. Then at 5:00, we will host a regional CBF worship/training event focused on Loving Muslims in the Name of Jesus. Butch & Nell Green, CBF missionaries who are working to connect churches in the Carolinas with Muslims, will lead us. They will tell their story. We will have time for questions and interactions.

Finally if you have not signed up for the Renovare Conference and would like to, let me know. The conference is Friday, February 29 – Saturday, March 1 at Chapel Hill Bible Church. This is a conference on Spiritual Renewal. This conference will provide a strategy for renewal and spiritual growth that combines the best of the six historic traditions of the Christian faith: Contemplative, Holiness, Social Justice, Charismatic, Evangelical and Incarnational. Hope Valley Baptist, as one of the event’s sponsors, will pay half of the tuition of all our members  who attend. The cost is $60.00 for people who register before February 15th. The cost is $70.00 if you register after February 15th. The cost is $40.00 for full time students. I  hope all deacons, Sunday School teachers, other leaders and many more members will take advantage of this conference coming to our area and will attend.

Posted January 23, 2008

Wow – winter has hit with a vengeance. I always struggle about what to do when the weather makes it more difficult to get out. Sunday we canceled the early service, but had Sunday School and the 11:00 worship. Whenever there is a change in our schedule it will be on listed on our church voice mail and I will send out an email. Also we post cancelations on channels 5 & 11. In spite of the bad weather, we did have a great time of worship and celebration. We reflected on Dr. King and then looked at how we can better “Love God and Love Others.” Let me also share that Monday night, I attended a Martin Luther King Worship service at Union Baptist Church. The church was packed and overflowing. It was a great community worship service. I hope you will attend that gathering next year.

In my newsletter article last week I shared that we are going to have opportunities to help you grow deeper in your walk with God. Last week, I focused on the Renovare Conference that will be Feb. 29 – March 1 at Chapel Hill Bible Church. I hope you will attend. There will be a brochure in this week’s bulletin giving more detail. The brochure includes a registration form. You can fill that out and place it in the offering plate. The church will pay ½ of the tuition for all members that attend. The cost is: early registration (before 2/15/08) - $60.00, late registration - $70.00 and full time students - $40.00. Registration includes: Sat. lunch, hand outs and A Spiritual Formation Workbook.

Another opportunity for Spiritual Growth is through our churchwide study of It’s Time . . . A Journey Toward Missional Faithfulness. As a church our goal is to be a missionary congregation. We have been talking about this and working toward it for years. Our mission work and giving continues to rise. We also work to be a holistic congregation – balancing our ministries. We have built around terms like: worship, fellowship, discipleship, missions & ministry.

This study can help us continue on our journey as a holistic missionary congregation. The study will take place in March & April. We want as many of adult & youth classes as possible to participate. We also would like to have small groups participating. The worship services will be built around the weekly themes. Those themes are: An urgent call to Christian Mission; Spiritual Formation; Prayer; Churches Discovering and Fulfilling their God-Given Mission; The Great Commission of Jesus Christ; Justice and Mercy; Rediscovering the Baptist Heritage and Renewing the Baptist Witness; and Hope. I get excited just reading those topics. I hope you do as well.

Be in prayer for our church as we embark on It’s Time and the Renovare Conference. Also I want to remind you we will have an interest meeting about mission trips this Sunday, January 25th at 5:00 in the Sanctuary.

Posted January 17, 2008

If you made a New Year’s Resolution to grow in your walk with God, then you have some great opportunities to assist you in accomplishing that goal. Whether or not it was a New Year’s resolution, most Christians have a desire to grow closer to God. So often, however, we don’t. Part of it is out of a lack of discipline and sometimes it is because we don’t know what to do. We have two upcoming events that can be pivotal in helping you along your Christian journey. There is a week-end conference, Renovare, that we are helping sponsor at Chapel Hill Bible Church on Feb 29 – March 1st. Then in March and April we will have a church wide study entitled, “It’s Time . . a Journey Toward Missional Faithfulness.” I’ll focus on Renovare this week & It’s Time next week.

Let me share from the web site on Renovare. Have you longed for a deeper relationship with God? Richard Foster and Chris Webb will lead this joyous, worship- packed conference as they teach us ways to strengthen our personal relationships with Jesus. Open to all people of faith, RENOVARÉ will benefit those seeking a balanced approach to spirituality. This conference will give Christians and Christian organizations of all denominations a plan for revitalizing, deepening, and renewing their relationships with God.

The conference will explore the Church's historic role in personal and corporate spiritual formation. Participants will rediscover time-tested, practical tools for growing spiritually.

This conference will help you:

• Learn to love Jesus more and fellowship with Him through abiding prayer.
  
• Gain a balanced vision and form a practical, effective strategy for transforming your spiritual life.
  
• Become familiar with the Church in all her multi-faceted dimensions.
  
• Gain insight into the spiritual disciplines of renewal.
  
• Start a spiritual formation group and learn together with others the processes of God's transforming grace.

Renovaré (Latin meaning “to renew”) provides a strategy for renewal and spiritual growth that combines the best from six historic traditions of Christian faith.

The conference begins Friday, Feburary 29th with check in 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Then there are two sessions with the second ending at 10:00 p.m. Saturday, March 1st the conference will be 8:15 – 4:00 p.m. The conference fee is $60.00 & $40.00 for full time students. Hope Valley will pay half of the tuition. I hope you will join us for this exciting week-end of spiritual growth.

Posted January 9, 2008

This past Sunday, we had a college-led worship service. To my knowledge, this was a first for Hope Valley and it was great. We have some really great college students at our church. I want to thank each person that took part. I especially want to thank Jeremy Churchill and Chelsy Woods who brought the morning message. They both did an outstanding job. I encourage you to pray for our college students. The college years can be so formative as a young person goes out on their own. Lots of important decisions are made during those years. It makes a big difference if college students are putting God first in their lives as they make those decisions.

Sunday night we had a meeting with Sunday School leaders about a study It’s Time . . . a Journey Toward Missional Faithfulness. After that meeting, we had a time of training and learning through watching a DVD from the Leadership Summit. On Monday night we had team night, with most of our teams (or committees) meeting and making plans for their team for the coming year. Let me share with you from those meetings.
The Sunday School teachers agreed that we will conduct the It’s Time study in March and April. This is a study about being a missionary congregation and being missionaries in our lives where we live now. Through this study we may begin some additional ministries or it may be that we strengthen our existing ministry projects.

The Sunday School teachers that were at the meeting agreed to talk to their classes about the study and determine their classes level of participation. We also discussed the importance of having some small groups as well. This is especially needed for those who teach children and preschool classes and will not otherwise participate in the study. Our worship themes will be built around the study, like we did when we conducted the 40 Days of Purpose. You will be hearing lots more about this study. I ask that you make plans to participate and begin praying that God will use this study to touch lives and to make a difference within our church.

Also on Sunday night we had a time or worship and learning as we participated in a service from the Willowcreek Leadership Summit. Toby Bowen & I attended this event this past summer. We purchased DVD’s of the event and want as many people as possible to be able to share this experience. This past Sunday night’s theme was “Leading from Your Strength” and was led by Marcus Buckingham. We decided to have a second session this Sunday night at 6:00. This session will be led by John Ortberg. Ortberg wrote the study “If you want to Walk on Water You Have to Get out of the Boat”.

On Monday night, at least seven of our teams (committees) met. I don’t know what came out of all those meetings, but I did hear from some. The mission’s team is making plans to have a mission trip. There will be an interest meeting on Sunday, January 27th at 5:00. They are also planning a Women’s Day in February and a Men’s Day in June. The Family Ministry team is planning a Valentine’s Banquet on Sunday, February 10th. The properties team are involved in several facility upgrades including: the upstairs in the family life center (dividing wall for the youth space, bathroom and kitchenette), improvements to preschool area, putting in more dropped ceilings in educational wing and vestibule as well as other projects. Each team is asked to share about their plans at the church family meeting that we will have this Sunday, January 13th after the 11:00 service.

2008 is off to a big start at Hope Valley. Pray that God will do even greater things in our church this year.

2007

Posted December 12, 2007

We are now less than two weeks away from Christmas day. At our deacons' meeting Sunday night, Toby Bowen shared a devotion in which he said that you can tell it is almost Christmas because everyone seems mad and in a hurry. Christmas means different things to different people. Christmas is the season for shopping and getting gifts. It is the season to over extend our budgets. It is the season for decorations. It is the season for family get-togethers and parties. It is the season for family conflicts. Christmas is the season that is really busy with lots to do and no where to park at the mall. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like Christmas is a Christian holiday at all.

As Christians, we must put Christ in the center of our Christmas celebrations. We have been working to emphasize Christ in our Advent observances, our children’s Christmas program (Mystery at the Manger was awesome!), the alternative Christmas gift market, our offering for World Missions, and there are more Christ centered Christmas celebrations to come.

* Sunday at 7:30 our Adult Choir, along with a full orchestra will present, Agnus Dei.
* Wednesday, December, 19th at 6:00 p.m. church wide Christmas caroling
* December 24th 6:00 p.m. Christmas Eve service with communion.
We will also continue to receive the offering for World Missions.

I want to comment briefly on our Adult Musical. There has been lots of work and preparation for this service. The choir has worked many hours. There will be a full orchestra. We are providing transportation as needed and child care. This is an event that you don’t want to miss. Above all else, this is to be a service of worship. The title of the musical is Agnus Dei. This is a Latin term meaning Lamb of God. It is based on the statement of John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29) This is not a common title for a Christmas Musical. It seems more appropriate for an Easter musical. I have not yet heard the musical, but I imagine this musical will take us from the cradle to the cross. I imagine it will tell us about Jesus' birth, but also His death and the purpose of His death. I may be wrong, but I am looking forward to this special service. I am looking forward to the orchestra and some great singing, but most of all I am looking forward to hearing a Christmas message that is not about: shopping, spending, parties, conflicts, crowded malls and angry shoppers. I am looking forward to hearing about a Savior that was born in a humble environment and who died in an even more humble environment. I am looking forward to hearing about how His life affects mine and yours.

Posted November 28, 2007

It is hard to believe that we are entering the season of Advent. Advent is a time of waiting, preparing and expectation. We are preparing to celebrate Christ’s birth, God coming into the world as a human. It is also a time to prepare for Christ return. We have lots of activities and ministries as a part of this preparation.

Leading up to Advent, we have recently taken part in an Operation Inasmuch as we participated in local mission work. We have also collected shoe boxes filled with presents for Operation Christmas child. We have collected toys for the Yates Associational Toy Store and clothes for Burmese refugees.

This coming Sunday is our first Sunday of Advent. The theme is hope. On Sunday afternoon at 3:00 our handbells will be playing at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. Sunday, Dec. 2nd at 6:00 our children’s choir will present the Mystery of the Manger. Childcare will be provided. After the service we will have a reception and there will be an Alternative Christmas Gift Market set up in the family life center. You can purchase a gift from One World Market or make a donation as a gift in honor of a loved one to organizations such as: Heifer International, Family Health Ministries, Habitat for Humanity, Society of St. Andrews, Interfaith Hospitality Network or Baptist World Missions.

On Sunday, December 16th at 7:30 p.m. our sanctuary choir along with the Triangle Youth Philharmonic Orchestra will present Michael W. Smith’s Agnus Dei. Childcare will be provided. Anyone needing a ride to the service can sign up on the bulletin board in the preschool hallway.

Once again we will be working with the Yates Baptist Association to provide home made cookies for the Women’s Prison. Bring your cookies to the church office by 11:00 a.m on Tuesday, Dec. 18th.

We will meet to go Christmas caroling on Wed. Dec 19th and have a Christmas Eve Service at 6:00 p.m on December 24th.

Finally as we are buying gifts for each other, let’s remember that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus. In celebration of His birthday, make a gift to Him by giving to our World Mission’s offering. Our goal this year is - $6,000. The offering will go CBF Global Missions or may be designated to the SBC International Missions.

In the midst of all our activities at church as well as family gatherings, shopping and everything else that takes place during the Advent and Christmas season, let’s keep our focus on Jesus. He is the greatest gift of all.

Posted November 21, 2007

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving as you gather with family or friends and reflect on how God has blessed you.

I want to thank you for all you do in service of our God. Thanks to everyone that took part in our Operation Inasmuch this past Saturday. We did yard work, prepared bags for the homeless, wrote encouraging notes, sang at retirement communities, made casseroles for the Ronald McDonald house, delivered coats and supplies to the Samaritan Inn, brought shoe boxes for Operation Christmas child, food for the associational food pantry and clothes for Burmese Refugees. Some of you had also previously brought shoe boxes for the Operation Christmas Child. THANKS for all that you did for others and ultimately for God.

Sunday night we hosted a community thanksgiving service with Presbyterians, Methodist, Catholics, and Church of the Brethren. It is always great for God's people to gather for worship. Thanks for those who went the extra mile in helping out with that service and the fellowship time afterwards.

You can still bring clothes for the Burmese Refugees. Bring them by this Sunday, November 25th. Mark the size.

You can still bring toys for the Associational Toy Store. Also bring them by this Sunday, November 25th. Leave the price on. The toys will be sold at 10% of original price.

Looking into December...

December 2nd - 6:00 p.m. Children's choir will present the Mystery of the Manger.*
Afterwards we will have refreshments and also an Alternative Christmas Gift Market will be set up in the gym.
You can buy a gift from One World Market, or make a donation as a gift in honor of someone to: Habitat for Humanity, Heifer International, Family Health Ministries, Society for Saint Andrews, Interfaith Hospitality Network of Baptist World Missions. There will be booths set up with representatives to share about these ministries.

December 16th - 7:30 - our Sanctuary Choir with the Triangle Youth Philharmonic Orchestra will present Michael W. Smith's Agnus Dei. *

December 19 - 6:30 Churchwide Christmas Caroling
December 24 - 6:00 Christmas Eve Service

* There will be a sign up for anyone that needs transportation to either the children or adult Christmas musicals.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Thanks for all that you do & in serving our God.

Posted November 1, 2007

I want to thank each person that has been working so hard around our church. Last week, we hosted the Interfaith Hospitality Network. Over the weekend, we had a Saturday night worship service. At intermission, the fellowship hall was decorated with Sunday School booths & refreshments. The youth did a skit Saturday night. Then on Sunday, we had Sunday School RoundUP! There were inflatable games set up - Barbecue chicken prepared - the Family Life Center was all set up. The youth ran the games & pop corn. Afterwards, everything was cleaned up and we had an afternoon service. We had sound technician s at all the services to assure the sound went smoothly. About an hour after the conclusion of the afternoon service, people appeared to set up for Holyween. The work for Holyween continued on Monday night. Now we are all ready for Holyween tomorrow & there will be more volunteers helping out then. THANKS !!
On November 11th, we will be collecting shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. On Saturday, November 17th, we will have an Operation InAsMuch. We need lots of volunteers to help us as we serve. We will be making casseroles for the Ronald McDonald House, writing notes to shut-ins, continuing collection for Operation Christmas Child, collecting coats and other supplies for Samaritan's Purse, doing yard work, singing at Assisted Living facilities, and preparing bags for the homeless. Plan to help us as we serve others. I want to thank you in advance!
A lot of what Christianity is about is serving others. Thanks for serving on these special occassions and thank you for serving on a daily and weekly basis. There are so many tasks involved in being a church - Sunday School teachers & leaders, lots of committees or teams that serve, mission groups, child care, meals, choir, praise teams, and other aspects of worship leadership. Thanks for all that you do for our church, but more importantly for God's Kingdom's work! Let's always keep our focus on God. That makes all the difference.

Thanks! Now let's keep running the race to see what else God can do in and through us.

Posted October 17, 2007

I hope you are having a great week! I wanted to pass on some updates about exciting things going on around Hope Valley.

First of all (not so exciting) the church entrance on Garrett Road is not open, so when you come to church during the week you will need to use the entrance at Hope Valley Road. They have promised that it will be open by Sunday!!

This week-end is our Associational On Mission Celebration.

* Saturday at Greystone Baptist. 2:00 - 4:00 Mission fair, 4:30 - 6:00 missionary rally / worship
* Sunday Duane Binkley, missionary to Karen people from Burma to preach at both 8:30 & 11:00 service. He, along with a local Karen pastor, Lawla Moo, will lead a combined SS class in the fellowship hall for all classes that would like to participate. Duane has a great web site about the Karen ministry at http://www.karenkonnection.org/

* We will host Interfaith Hospitality Network Oct. 21 - 28 if you can help email me or contact Anne Pokorny.

CHURCH RENEWAL / SUNDAY SCHOOL ROUND - UP OCT. 27 - 28
This is going to be a great week-end. Come, invite inactive members, prospects, friends, anyone you can think of. Kyle Matthews will be our guest artist. You can check out his web site - www.kylematthews.com.

* Our schedule is: Saturday Oct. 27th 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. opening concert / worship. We will have an intermission roughly 7:15 - 7:45. Tickets have been printed, but are not needed. It is a free concert, but we will have an offering to help with expenses.
* Sunday 9:15 - Sunday School, 10:30 - Worship, 12:00 - 3:00 lunch followed by games & activities. (barbecue chicken will be provided - bring a side dish or dessert). 3:00 - 4:15 final concert / worship.

Wednesday October 31st - HOLYWEEN 6:00 - 8:30.
Sign up sheet for volunteers is in preschool hall way.

GREAT OPPORTUNITIES. PRAY. COME. BRING A FRIEND. FOLLOW UP.

Posted October 10, 2007

I am really excited about some upcoming BIG EVENTS. You don’t want to miss any of it. Be praying for these events, invite your friends & volunteer to help out.

* October 20th – 22 NC Associational On Mission Celebration
* October 20th at Greystone Baptist – 2:00 – 4:00 Mission Fair, followed by worship at 4:30
* October 21st – 28th HVBC hosts InterFaith Hospitality Network
* October 21st Duane Binkley, missionary to Karen Refugees, from Burma (or Myanmar) will preach at both services. He, along with local Karen pastor, Lawla Moo, will lead a combined Sunday School class in the fellowship hall.
* October 22nd – Associational Annual Meeting at Yates Baptist
* October 27th – 28th Church Renewal / Sunday School RoundUP!
* Saturday October 27th 6:00 – 9:00 Kyle Matthews will perform at HVBC in concert. Tickets have been printed but are not needed for admissions. There is no charge for the concert. We will have an offering.
* Sunday, October 28th – Sunday School RoundUP!
o 9:15 Sunday School
o 10:30 Worship
o 12:00 – 3:00 lunch followed by games and activities. (Barbecue chicken will Be provided. Everyone is asked to bring a side dish or dessert).
o 3:00 – 4:15 Kyle Matthews concert / worship service
* October 31st 6:00 – 8:30 Holyween
We need lots of volunteers to run games. We also need people to donate prizes, cakes for cake walk, and/or refreshments. We will need help with "trunk or treat", set up / decorating, clean up crew, and we'll need folks for the security team.

Yes, we have some big events. I believe they are significant & can impact our lives, our community & our church.

Posted October 5, 2007

I want to share my appreciation for the recognition Sunday of my serving as pastor at Hope Valley for 10 years. The scrap book is really nice & I have enjoyed reading all the notes and looking through the pictures. Lots of memories can be made in 10 years. I also have enjoyed the family tree and genealogy. Carol traced my roots back 14 generations to the year 1530 in Lincolnshire, England!

It is always fun to think back over the past. As David Steffens mentioned Sunday, when my family and I first came here, Matthew was 6 and Blake was almost 5. Madison had not been born. Sunday being a deacon ordination, I had looked up some records and realized that there have now been 22 deacons ordained over the past 10 years. We have also welcomed nearly 300 new members. Obviously lots have moved in, joined the church and moved away. One of our goals is to help people in their Christian journey and when they move away they will be better equipped to serve in other places. There have been some facility improvements (no more yellow carpet in the sanctuary), a grand playground, church signs, and lots of other renovations. We have made the claim that we are an intergenerational church and have worked to build on that. We are becoming more and more a missional church – a church that is on Mission with God – both through supporting mission causes as well as being and doing mission work. We completed a strategic plan and are working to implement it. We have recently moved from having a part time minister of music to a full time minister of music and worship. I appreciate all the ministry our music ministers have done in the past, but being full time does add so much. Ken has been a great addition to our staff. We continue to have a strong emphasis on youth.

Hope Valley has a rich history going back 48 years. It is important to remember our past, but we must also strive for what more God wants us to do now and into the future. We are located at a strategic place for ministry. There are so many people moving into our area. Let’s keep pushing forward for God.

Thanks for the recognition Sunday and for the notes, pictures and other items. Thanks for all the support that you have shared to me and to my family over the past 10 years. Thanks for working with me, dreaming and visioning with me. Now let’s press on to see what new things God has in store.

Let me close by highlighting some exciting upcoming events.

* October 20 – 22 On Mission Celebration. October 20 – mission fair & rally at Greystone Baptist
* October 21st Missionary to Karen refugees from Burma to preach
* October 22nd Associational Annual Meeting
* October 21 – 28 we will host Interfaith Hospitality Network
* October 27 – 28 Church Renewal / Sunday School Round up
* October 27th Kyle Matthews concert 6:00 – 9:00
* October 28th – SS at 9:15, Worship 10:30, 12:00 – 3:00 lunch, games & activities 3:00 final concert by Kyle Matthews
* October 31st 6:00 – 8:30 HOLYWEEN
* Nov. 17th – Operation Inasmuch

Posted September 26, 2007

October Has Lots of Important Events!

October begins with TEAM night (formerly known as Committee night) on October 1st at 7:00 p.m. All the church teams or committees are to meet, unless you have made other plans. You are to elect a chair and make plans for your group to accomplish during the 2007-2008 church year. We will have a church family meeting on Sunday, October 7th after the 11:00 service in which the teams are to present what you are doing and planning.

Our Associational On Mission Celebration is October 20-22. Activities will include:

* Saturday, October 20th 2:00 – 4:00PM Mission Fair at Greystone Baptist, followed by a Mission Rally beginning at 4:30.
* Sunday, October 21st Duane Binkley will preach and lead a combined Sunday School class at Hope Valley Baptist.
* Monday, October 22nd, Associational Annual Meeting at Yates Baptist.

We will Host the Interfaith Hospitality Network October 21-28th.

October 27 – 28 we will have a Church Renewal Weekend and Sunday School RoundUP. Kyle Matthews, who is a singer, songwriter, speaker, and Dove award winner, will be leading our weekend. The schedule for the weekend is:

* Saturday, October 27th 6:00 – 9:00 opening concert / renewal service
* Sunday, October 28th
o 9:15 Sunday School
o 10:30 Worship Service
o 12:00 – 3:00 Lunch, games & activities
o 3:00 – 4:15 final concert / service

October concludes with Halloween or as we say around Hope Valley Holyween. Holyween this year will be on Wednesday, October 31 from 6:00 until 8:30. Lots of games, food, and fellowship are being planned.

Yes, October is a month with lots of important events at Hope Valley. Be praying for each of these events. Do your part to help out. Invite inactive members and prospects. Then after the events, let’s work to follow up, so these events can have their greatest impact on our church, but more importantly people’s lives and God’s Kingdom’s work.

Posted September 20, 2007

There are lots of exciting events and plans that are taking place at our church these days. Let me share a little about my week. On Monday morning I got a call from Linda Brown. She and Kaye Jenkins are going to lead the 4-5 year old mission friends. The nominating team has done such a good job finding the right people to serve in the right places, but this was one group that they had not yet found the leaders for. I am so excited that Kaye and Linda will be leading that group. They will be a great leadership team for our 4-5 year old mission friends.

Then on Monday we had our staff meeting. Because of some scheduling conflicts we had missed a couple of meetings. We had extended time going over our upcoming plans. Plans that include:

* September 30th - Deacon Ordination
* October 6th - Youth going to Duke – Wake Forest football game
* October 7th - Communion
* October 20th -22nd - On Mission Celebration
* October 20th - Mission Fair & Rally at Grey Stone Baptist
* October 21th - Duane Binkley, Missionary to Karen people to preach at Hope Valley
* October 22nd - Associational Annual Meeting
* October 27th - 28th - Renewal Weekend & Sunday School RoundUP! with Kyle Matthews, games, activities, lunch, etc., etc.
* October 31st - Holyween on Halloween
* November 3rd - Youth Spooktacular lock-in
* November 18 - Community Thanksgiving Service at Hope Valley
* December 2nd - Children’s Christmas Musical
* December 15th - Adult Christmas Musical

Beyond these events, we are planning a baptismal service, a week to host IHN, Operation Inasmuch, a spring small group study, and a Sunday worship led by Richard Jackson. I get really excited as I look at what we are doing as a church. There are so many opportunities to grow through: worship, discipleship, fellowship, missions and ministry.

After the planning and activities of Monday, Tuesday was also a great day for me. I spent the morning and early afternoon with our Keenagers at PRIME TIME. Prime Time is an annual associational Senior Adult event that has been going on for 14 years. The theme was “Be Utterly Astounded . . . at what God can do through ME!” The service included six testimonies from Senior Adults in our association about mission projects in which they are involved. It was very inspiring and it is always a lot of fun to spend time with our Keenagers. I will have to add that one of the co-chairs for the program was Carol Rigsbee, and Marie Collins was also on the planning committee and is the secretary for our associational senior adult team.

It is a good time around Hope Valley. The weather is finally turning a little cooler. Fall is around the corner and great things are taking place and being planned.

Posted September 06, 2007

It’s September, but almost every time I talk to Ken, our music minister, he wants to talk about Christmas. That is over three months away and he has been talking about Christmas for a couple of months now. Well as you know time can fly by and before you know it, it will be Christmas. Our choir is planning a really special Christmas musical written by Michael W. Smith. The children’s choir will also begin their Christmas choir rehearsals this Sunday afternoon at 6:00. Ken is really excited about both of these musicals, so I guess it is not too early to start talking about Christmas.

There are also some big plans for a Church Renewal / Sunday School RoundUP on October 27 – 28. Kyle Matthews, a singer and song writer, will be leading in these events. We will have a Saturday night service. Then on Sunday, we will have Sunday School at 9:15 & a combined worship service at 10:30. Afterwards, we will have lunch, games and activities, and then Kyle will lead us in an afternoon service of music and teaching. If you are not familiar with Kyle, I encourage you visit his web site at www.kylematthews.com. Kyle was with us back in 1999. He also wrote the song, “We Fall Down,” that the youth did a skit to at their share service. Mark those dates on your calendar.

We are planning some big events, but we also have great things happening on a regular basis. This past Sunday, we started a new church year and I am so appreciative of all of our members that have taken on roles within our church. The more people that are involved in ministry the more we will accomplish for God’s Kingdom.

One of the new positions is a Preschool Coordinator. Amy Herring has taken on this role. She has really worked to organize and make improvements in our preschool ministries. There is a preschool team that is working with her along with SS teachers, extended worship leaders, children’s church leaders, mission friend leaders, etc. It is great to see these improvements in this ministry to our youngest children.

We also have some new deacons: Loftin Barnes, Grey Gentry, Ron Jones, Rob Taylor and Chris Williamson. Be in prayer for all of our deacons in their leadership and service to our church and ultimately to God. We will have a deacon ordination for Loftin Barnes and Chris Williamson on Sunday, September 30th.

Posted August 30, 2007

It is hard to believe that the summer is almost over, especially when you walk outside and it is nearly 100 degrees. It has been another great summer around Hope Valley with a record VBS attendance, Church camping, youth mission trip & camp, mission trips to Hawaii and Alaska, a youth lead worship service and just lots of good weekly ministry.

We begin our new church year this Sunday. I really appreciate all the work of the nominating team in helping connect the right people to the right places of ministry. I am also so thankful to so many of you for agreeing to serve. For some, this will be a new experience. For others, you will be continuing in a ministry position that you have held for many years. Thanks to all of you for your service to God. We still have a few ministry positions to fill. The most pressing need is 4-5 year old Mission Friends. This is such an important ministry to our younger children. If this is your calling let me know.

I also have to mention the choir. Wasn’t it great to see the choir loft packed on Sunday? And the anthem, “Wake Up Church” was awesome! I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I knew the choir was excited about this new song. It was really good. Ken has had a rough summer with pneumonia and lots of complications, but he is doing better and now has the choir all pumped up.

Finally, this is the time of the year that we typically have our Annual Sunday School Round up. It is going to be a little later this year, but the wait will be worth it. We are making plans to have a Church Renewal and Sunday School Round up October 27 – 28. We would then have Holyween on Wednesday, October 31st. Mark these dates on your calendar. I will let you know more specifics as things are worked out. These events have potential to have a great impact on our church and on our individual lives. Be in prayer about Sunday School Round up and Holyween and be thinking about how you can be involved and who you can invite. Be praying for our church, not just about special events, but on a weekly and daily basis. Great things are happening at Hope Valley and I know with God’s help there is so much more we will be able to accomplish.

Posted August 9, 2007

There was a lot of wonderful fun and fellowship that took place at our church wide camping trip. The group was spread out on different campsites, so it can be difficult counting everyone, but we made an effort to figure out how many people did participate. With Tim’s help I counted at least 54 individuals that camped out and a total of 70 individuals that were there at some point. Some came for a day. Some spent one night and some spent several nights. There was lots of water fun with boats and wave runners and just playing in the water. There was also time to talk, share a meal, eat smores, and visit on other campsites. About 50 individuals gathered on one of the campsites for worship on Sunday morning.

It is always good to enjoy one another’s company. As a church we are a community and community building takes place in different ways. Some times it is through being there for one another in difficult times. Some times it is by celebrating accomplishments together. Community happens as we worship, participate in Bible study and do mission work together. Community also takes place when we play and have fun. Thanks to all who came to have fun and build community last week-end at Jordan Lake. If you didn’t make it this year, know that we will do it again next summer.

On August 19th our youth will lead in both the 8:30 and 11:00 worship services. They will share about their mission trip to Asheville, SeeSalt Camp and other experiences this summer. It is always great to have our youth lead.

Also on August 19th, we will be electing deacons. Be in prayer for the person that you feel should serve in this important capacity. You can elect up to five deacons to serve a three year term. After the 11:00 service on August 19th we will have a church family meeting in which the nominating team will present the SS officers, teachers and committee/teams for the 2007-2008 church year for your approval. The nominating team report will be distributed this Sunday, August 12th.

Posted August 2, 2007

How is your relationship with God? Sometimes that seems to be a question that we may ask to find out if someone is a Christian, but it is a question that we need to regularly ask ourselves. How is my relationship with God? Too often even as Christians, we are busy and many things that we are busy doing are good things. Our busyness could be because of our work, our family, our vacation and our involvement in church. Our activities could include: Sunday School, worship, prayer meeting, Vacation Bible School, helping with Interfaith Hospitality Network and/or going on the church camping trip. It is great to do a lot of Christian activities. I encourage you to stay active and busy in your church life.

Christianity, however, is not just about doing. It is about our relationship with God. While I was at the CBF General Assembly, I attended a break out session in which the leader stated “often we are functional atheist. We believe in God, but we act as if God is not around.” We are often doing good things, but are not in touch with God. I also recently heard a former religious newspaper reporter talk about how so often religious organizations are about the same as any other non-profit. Again the idea is doing good things, but not connecting with God.

I encourage you to take the time to connect with God. Look for God in your daily activities. It could be that you see God in creation. You may see God in a person in need or you may see God as you pray and you see how God is answering that prayer. Where have you seen God this week?

I encourage you to worship God. Ideally we worship when we gather on Sunday. We may or we may not. We are not only to worship at church. We are to worship regularly in our daily lives. Worship happens as we love God and show our adoration to God through singing, praying, serving or simply focusing on God. How have you worshipped God this week?

Let me ask you again. How is your relationship with God? How does it affect your daily life? How often do you take the time to see God? To worship God? And how often do you share with others about God? If you share about God to a Christian, it can strengthen their faith. If you share about God with someone that is not a Christian, it can change their life and their eternity.

Posted July 30, 2007

As we move into August, we begin to realize that the summer is winding down. It is time for those last summer vacations and time to begin looking toward the Fall. School will be starting back soon and before you know it, it will be a little cooler outdoors.

As a church, we also are planning our final summer activities as we make Fall plans. Some big events for August include a church camping trip, hosting Interfaith Hospitality Network and a youth lead worship service.
Our church camping trip at Jordan Lake will be August 2-5. This is always a great time to relax, enjoy the outdoors and get together with other church members. The camping trip always includes a lot of fun water activities. Make plans to join us. Some campers actually start camping earlier and stay through the week-end. Others come up for the day on Saturday. Whether you join us for a day or camp out all week, I hope you will take part in our church camping trip.

We will be hosting Interfaith Hospitality Network August 7-12. This is a really significant ministry. Our church coordinator, Anne Pokorny, is currently on a mission trip in Alaska. Let’s sign up early to make her job easier when she returns. Inside this Illuminator, you will find more information on the specific needs for IHN.

Our youth will lead in our worship service on August 19th. This will be a time for them to share about their mission trip, camp experience and other ways that God has been working in their lives this summer. Make an extra effort to be in worship on that Sunday.

Looking toward the Fall, we are making plans for a church wide small group emphasis. The Small Group study this Fall will be “It’s Time . . . .a Journey Toward Missional Faithfulness.” This is a study about being holistic Christians with a strong mission focus. It fits really well with the ongoing focus of our church. We again will need small group leaders, hosts and I hope most all of our members will participate in a group. We will be starting this study in late September or the first of October.

We will also have another Sunday School round up in the Fall. We don’t have a lot of the specific plans yet, but it is coming. You will be hearing more about this soon.

Let’s enjoy the end of the summer both at church, with a final vacation or just enjoying the summer pace. As we move to the Fall let’s get ready for all it has to offer.

Posted July 20, 2007

Wow!! What a week of Vacation Bible School! VBS is always such an important week in the life of our church with all the fun games, silly songs, crafts, Bible studies, recreation and other activities. We have some great time as we teach children about Jesus. I am so glad to be at a church that prioritizes VBS and children. Our VBS is really good!! As of Tuesday night we had 135 children that have registered and 126 leaders for a total of 261 individuals involved in our VBS. That is the most we have ever had!! This is such a great event for our church and community. Thanks so much to Rachel Dossett & Loftin Barnes for being our VBS co-directors. Thanks to all of the VBS workers and to the parents for bringing your children. Now let’s work to follow up on those who attended our VBS that do not have a church home.

On Thursday, Marie Collins and Anne Pokorny left to go to Alaska for a mission trip in which they will be working in a VBS there. Be in prayer for them as they are away. They will be returning July 30th.

July has been such a wonderful month of missions, ministry and also activities. We have had VBS and now we have members on a mission trip. We hosted a World Changer’s team. World Changers is a youth mission experience in which youth groups from around the country came to Durham to do home repairs and have group worship and celebration. We had a team worship with us on Sunday, July 8th and we provided lunch for them July 8- 13.

Next week, July 23-27, we will have 24 of our youth attend a SeeSalt camp at Myrtle Beach. This camp is lead by Bill Cox. You probably remember Bill leading a worship service at Hope Valley last Fall. Be in prayer for our youth as they are at camp.

Record attendance at VBS, mission trip to Alaska, host World Changers, youth camp – yes July is a great month of missions, ministry and activities at Hope Valley. Looking ahead to August we have even more opportunities – August 2-5 Church camping trip, Aug 5-12 we host Interfaith Hospitality Network, August 19 – youth share service. Thanks for being a church that is on Mission with God.

Posted June 28, 2007

This has been an amazing and busy summer around Hope Valley Baptist. Think about all that has taken place in June:

* hosting Interfaith Hospitality Network
* youth mission trip to Asheville
* mission trip to Hawaii
* Graduate Recognition Sunday
* Men’s Day

There have been so many great things taking place. As I write this I am looking back over the results of the . Total attendance for the three nights – 41,500 and 2,471 professions of faith!! There were about 45 individuals that attended with our church group. The music was great. The messages were powerful. All three services are now on streaming video http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2007/raleigh/.

As the month ends there are some of us attending the CBF General Assembly in Washington, DC. This is going to be a great time sharing with other Baptist Christians. Speakers for the event include: Tony Campolo, Jim Wallis (Sojourners), David Coffey (Baptist World Alliance President), Emmanuel McCall (CBF moderator), Daniel Vestal (CBF coordinator) and Rob Nash (CBF mission coordinator) There will be commissioning of missionaries, joint worship with the American Baptist and break out sessions on all sorts of topics.

As we move into July there are more exciting events:

* hosting World Changers July 8-13
* Vacation Bible School July 15-19
* Mission trip to Alaska July 19-30
* Youth Camp July 23-27
* and August begins with church camping August 3-7

I want to thank you all for your commitment to God and your participation and leadership in all these different activities and ministries. I specifically thank our VBS leaders. Vacation Bible School is such an important event and it takes a lot of people to bring it all together.

Be in prayer for our church. Pray for VBS. Come and bring your friends. This is a great opportunity for outreach. We want everyone to register in advance so that we can be best prepared for VBS.

Posted June 21, 2007

The Harvest Crusade is June 22 - 24. Over 200 churches are involved. Each night will begin with some great music. Then Pastor Greg will address the big questions of life like "Why am I here?", "Is God real?", and "Where will I go when I die?" We will meet at the church to commute together. We will take the church van and others can drive as needed. We will meet at the church 1 ¾ hours before the event. That will be 5:15 on Friday & Saturday and 4:15 on Sunday. Be in prayer for the crusade and invite your friends to join you.

FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 7PM
DAVID CROWDER BAND // ANDRAÉ CROUCH

SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 7PM
TOBYMAC // LEELAND

SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 6PM
THIRD DAY // DENNIS AGAJANIA

Posted June 14, 2007

This Sunday, June 17th is Baptist Men’s Day. Our men will be leading in all aspects of our service. Marc Wyatt will be our guest speaker. Marc and his wife Kim are really good friends of mine. I first met them when we were all three students at Wingate College. Marc and I were also in seminary together. Kim grew up in Durham and is Brenda and Joel Pendergraft’s niece. Marc and Kim are CBF missionaries to Internationals in Canada. They have served in Southeast Asia and Toronto, Canada. Over the past year that have been in North Carolina. They will be returning to Canada in July, but to a new location. They will be serving in Ontario. I look forward to having our men lead in our worship and in having Marc as our guest speaker.

The is June 22-24. The crusade will feature three nights of live music from contemporary Christian artists, worship from the Band, and relevant, biblical messages from Greg Laurie on all three nights.

FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 7PM
DAVID CROWDER BAND // ANDRAÉ CROUCH

SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 7PM
TOBYMAC // LEELAND

SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 6PM
THIRD DAY // DENNIS AGAJANIAN

Pastor Greg will address the big questions of life like "Why am I here?", "Is God real?", and "Where will I go when I die?" We will meet at the church to commute together. We will take the church van and others can drive as needed. We will meet one hour before the event, so that will be Friday & Saturday at 6:00 and Sunday at 5:00. Be in prayer for the crusade and invite your friends to join you.

Our Vacation Bible School is coming soon. It will be July 15-19. You can register online right here.

Posted June 6, 2007

This morning I read a devotion entitled, “Life is a Story.” The devotion spoke about how life unfolds like a drama. When an event happens, it is important to know the story behind it. As we live life, we want to know what is next in our story, but we must live it. We must discover it or write it. It is important that our story connects with God’s story and that we help others connect with God’s story as well. That is our goal in life.

This summer we have special events to help us in making that connection and leading others to make that connection with their story and God’s story. Our youth will be going on a mission trip to Asheville this Saturday. They will be working with the Slavic Community. Be in prayer for them and the ministry they will be doing. Also Marie Collins & Carol Rigsbee will be going with a team from our Association on a Mission trip to Hawaii to lead VBS. Be in prayer for them and that ministry.

On Father’s Day, June 17 we will have the men leading in worship. My friend Marc Wyatt, who is a CBF missionary to Canada, will be our guest speaker. I am sure he will share some of his story and challenge us with our story particular as we live the gospel in our community being a missional church.

The is June 22-24. Greg Laurie will be the speaker. Each night will begin with a short concert from top Christian musicians:

* Friday, June 22 – 7:00 p.m. David Crowder Band & Andrae Crouch
* Saturday, June 23 – 7:00 p.m. Toby Mac & Leeland
* Sunday, June 24 – 6:00 p.m. Third Day & Crystal Lewis

We will meet at the church each night and commute together or you can go directly to the RBC. This will be a huge evangelistic outreach for the triangle. There are over 225 churches involved. One of the leaders of the crusade said it is in a sense mass evangelism, but it is also personal evangelism. The goal is for individuals to pray for friends and to bring them. On Sunday, I will have some brochures you can share. One has a place for you to include, “Your Story.”

Also our VBS plans are coming along. VBS will be July 15-19. Remember to register online.

Lets use these opportunities to better connect our story to God’s story and to invite others to do the same.

Posted June 1, 2007

I really enjoyed our worship service this past week as we celebrated Pentecost. So often as Baptists, we focus on the Father and the Son, and neglect the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s Presence in our life today. As I shared, we cannot control the Holy Spirit, but we are to be open to the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to pray daily, “Come Holy Spirit, empower me, lead me, direct me.”

As we move into the summer, we are getting set for mission trips, VBS, , and other ministries. We do have some great opportunities to serve and to support one another. This week we are hosting the Interfaith Hospitality Network, a ministry to homeless families. I want to thank Anne Pokorny for all her work in coordinating this ministry and to everyone who helped out this week. Thanks. This is a wonderful ministry that takes place at our church.

The youth will be going on their summer mission trip June 9-16. They will be working with the Slavic community in Asheville, NC. This is a ministry that is coordinated by Fran and Mike Graham. I met the Grahams at the CBF NC General Assembly. They became aware of the large Slavic population in Asheville, about 7,000 people from Ukraine, Russia and Moldova. The Grahams were both employed full time, so they formed a task force at their church to aid new families when they moved in the area. They started helping with furniture, ESL classes and the ministry grew. In 2005, the Grahams became CBF Global Missions AsYouGo affiliates. They are still volunteers but now they have more of a support structure. Our youth will be leading Back Yard Bible Clubs in apartment complexes and also leading worship in local churches. I am really excited about our youth taking part on this “International” mission trip that is in our state. Be in prayer for our youth and their leaders that will be taking part in this ministry. The team members are: Kelly Bowling, Jeremy Churchill, Marilyn Deaner Allyn Hunt, Jordan Jernigan, Catherine Kasberg, Rachel May, Shannon O’Toole, Bryson Roberts, Chase Schlitz, Neil Thomas, Graham Thomas, Chelsy Woods, Raana Zarea, Tim & Denise Williford, Chris Cook, Karen Roberts and Barbara Sanders.

Marie Collins and Carol Rigsbee will be going on a mission trip to Hawaii in June. This is their second mission trip to Hawaii. Last year they both went but on separate trips. They will be leading Vacation Bible School.

Looking ahead, be in prayer for the , June 22-24. There are over 200 churches that are working together to host this evangelistic crusade. Then our Vacation Bible School is July 15-19. You can register online here.

Be in prayer for our church both as we are gathered in worship, Bible study and fellowship and when we are scattered being God’s hands and feet in our world.

Posted May 23, 2007

Often churches view the summer as the "slow down months" when there is not as much taking place. That is not true of Hope Valley! There are so many opportunities to serve and special events that are coming up as we enter the summer. Let me share about some events for the end of May and in June.

May 27th is Pentecost Sunday. This is the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit and a revival with a baptism of 3,000 people. Our service will include the Scripture being read in different languages and a baptism.

May 27 – June 3 – we host the Interfaith Hospitality Network

June 3rd – Graduate Recognition. Our High School graduates are: Kourtney Dawson, Brandon Roberts, Alan Schlitz, Chelsy Woods, Laura Beth Yates. Our college graduates are: Amanda Bostian, Brian Kennedy and Kara Warren. Advanced degrees: Ray Foster and Michelle Hunt.

June 10 – Church family meeting after 11:00 worship. The deacons will have three recommendations for the church.

* Allowing a Vietnamese group to have a Bible study at our church. The deacons approved this for a short term basis, but would like to present this to the church.
* To help sponsor the (June 22-24).
* To help sponsor the Renovare Conference (February 29 - March 1, 2008). If approved our sponsorship would include providing partial scholarships to church members to attend.

June 8 – 18 – Marie Collins and Carol Rigsbee mission trip to Hawaii

June 9 – 16 – Youth Mission trip to Asheville, NC to work with Slavic community.

June 17 – Men’s Day. Our men will lead in our morning worship services. Our guest speaker for Men’s Day is Marc Wyatt, CBF missionary to internationals in Canada.

June 22- 24 at the RBC in Raleigh with Greg Laurie
Friday, June 22 7:00 p.m. music - David Crowder Band & Andrae Crouch
Saturday, June 23 7:00 p.m. music- Toby Mac & Leeland
Sunday, June 24 6:00 p.m. music – Third Day

June 27-30 CBF General Assembly in Washington, DC

And coming July 15-19 Vacation Bible School. You are encouraged to register on line.

I am so excited about all these great opportunities. May the summer be a time for us to grow deeper in our relationship with God. Be praying for our church. Put these dates on your calendar and invite a friend to join you especially for the and for Vacation Bible School.

Posted May 9, 2007

This past Sunday we honored our mothers & women of our church. Our service included a parent child dedication and the children’s choir sang at the 11:00 service. It was a great day. As a part of my message I shared a quiz that had been emailed to me. It has become known as the Charles Shultz Philosophy although I understand it did not originate with Shultz. I wanted to include it in the newsletter so you can take a little more time to reflect on it and to answer the questions.

* Name the five wealthiest people in the world
* Name the last five Heismen trophy winners
* Name the last five winners of the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize
* Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor & actress
* Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do? The point is none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no 2nd rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades & certificates are buried with their owners. Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

* List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
* Name 3 friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
* Name 5 people who have taught you something worthwhile.
* Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated & special.
* Think of 5 people you enjoy spending time with.
* Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Easier? The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care.

I have included the answers to the first part of the quiz here, so you can look up these “trivia” answers. You can provide the answers to the second part of the quiz. Who are the people that really affect your life? I imagine that many of us would include mothers and fathers on that list. Also think about who you impact and how you can best impact others in positive ways.

Just a reminder:

* This Sunday, May 20th – Homecoming. No 8:30 service. Covered dish lunch.
* Sunday, May 27th – Pentecost Sunday with a baptism.
* Sunday, June 3rd – Graduate recognition. We will also have a commissioning of youth that will be going on mission trip to Asheville to work with Slavic Community and commissioning of Carol Rigsbee & Marie Collins who will be going on a mission trip to Hawaii.

May 2, 2007

In the past when the deacons would gather to pray before the service the question was asked, “Is there anything special in our worship today?” I would respond, “yes there is always something special.” That became a running joke with the deacons. Of course what was meant by the question was is there something different in our worship today, some element that we don’t usually have.

Each week as we gather for worship it is to be special. We are to worship God daily as we pray, read the Bible and live the Christian life, but there is to be something special as we gather for corporate worship. I encourage you to pray daily for our church and pray for our worship that we will have a greater sense of God’s presence every week when we gather for worship.

In the coming weeks, we will have some different elements in our worship that can add to what we will experience. Let me share with you about some upcoming plans for worship.

May 13th – Mother’s Day. The children’s choir will sing at our 11:00 worship service and we will have a parent / child dedication at both the 8:30 and 11:00 services.

May 20th – Homecoming. Scott Kyles will be our guest speaker. Scott grew up at Hope Valley and now serves as pastor of Shoals Baptist Church in Pinnacle, NC. He is the son of Gary & Mary Kyles and the brother to Lori. We will not have an 8:30 service that day. After worship we will have a covered dish lunch.

May 27th – Pentecost. This is the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit. (see Acts 2)

June 3rd – Graduate Recognition Sunday.

Each week our worship is to be special and in the coming weeks we have some added special emphasis as a part of our worship.

Posted April 24, 2007

I have a lot I want to share with you today. Sunday was awesome. It was great to have the Kelly & Corn family share in the service through testimony and song. It was so exciting when Adrian Williams accepted Christ as his Savior. Also Sunday night I baptized a young couple that are planning to get married soon. They were already Christians, but wanted to be baptized by immersion and to recommit their lives to God. We did this at 7 p.m. and had the youth share in that service.

Yesterday, Ken and I attended a meeting at the Yates Associational Office about an event called Harvest 2007. I have also talked to Tim about it and we are all really excited about this event this summer. This is a 3 day evangelistic crusade (June 22-24) led by Greg Laurie. Greg is a pastor in California. I had heard about this, but I didn't know the speaker. After attending the meeting I am really excited. Greg Laurie's church has a passion for evangelism and financially supports these crusades. They will also have big name contemporary Christian music groups take part: David Crowder Band, Toby Mac, Leeland & Third Day. 195 area churches are helping sponsor the crusade & I would like for us to get on board. There are training events beginning next week for discipleship & to be a counselor. Those taking part are to attend a class per week for three weeks. Each class is offered every day of the week & there are 9 different locations. We also need church leaders to help coordinate our church's participation and we need a follow up coordinator. Church's with follow up coordinators will be sent names of individuals that made decisions so that they can be contacted by a local church. You will be hearing more about this. You can also go to www.harvestcrusades.org for more information.

Another Big Event coming to our area is a Renovare Conference. This
will be February 29 - March 1, 2008. This is a Spiritual Formation conference that will be held at Chapel Hill Bible Church. I would like for our church to help sponsor this event. For more information, please visit the Renovare website at renovare.org.

Let me share other upcoming events so you can put these on your calendars.

May

* 13 - Mother's Day - Parent / Child dedication
* 20 - Homecoming - Guest speaker - Scott Kyles
* 27 - Pentecost Sunday

June

* 3 - Graduate Recognition
* 9-16 - Youth Mission Trip
* 17 - Men's Day - Father's Day
* 22-24
* 27-30 CBF General Assemby in Washington, DC. We are considering taking a group from our church.

July

* 8-14 World Changers will be in Durham
* 15-19 Vacation Bible School
* 23-27 Youth Camp

August

* 2-5 Church Camping Trip
* 9-11 Leadership Satelite Summit broadcast from Willow Creek Community Church, near Chicago will be at Satelite locations including Raleigh. Speakers include: Jimmy Carter, Colin Powell, Bill Hybels, John Ortberg, business professors & leaders and more. If you are interested, please let me know. For more information, please click here.

We are also planning a mission trip to Mexico in August.
Posted April 19, 2007

I am looking forward to our worship service this coming Sunday, April 22nd. The focus of the service will be on love. We will be reminded of God’s love for us and the love that we are to have for others. As a part of the service there will be a focus on organ donations. We will have two individuals with connections to Hope Valley that have received organ transplants to share in the service: Dean Corn and Abron Kelly.

Dean & Glenna Corn attend our early service. Dean recently had a liver transplant. Dean will be sharing in the services. Abron Kelly lives in Wilmington. Her father, Don, grew up at Hope Valley. Abron’s grandparents are Dana Kelly and Judy Briant. Abron has received a kidney transplant. Abron’s mother, Debra, will share in the service and Abron will sing.

Whenever I think of organ donations, I think about Jane Smith. Jane is a former member of Hope Valley. She previously was a school teacher in Fayetteville and had a student who needed a kidney transplant. She daily saw his need, and then volunteered to give him one of her kidneys!! That was such an amazing act of love.

I am looking forward to this Sunday as we worship together, hear some inspiring stories, celebrate God’s love and commit to love one another.

I also want to invite you to attend a Celebration for our Refugee friends on Saturday, April 28th at Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill. The family that we have been supporting has two adult children whose families preceded them in resettling in this area. Their families are sponsored by Chapel of the Cross and Holy Trinity Lutheran Churches of Chapel Hill. The service begins at 11:00 and will be followed by a pot luck dinner. If you would like to meet at the church to commute together, call the church office to make reservations.
Posted April 13, 2007

Christ has risen. He has risen indeed. Easter is such a highlight for Christians, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. The celebration is even sweeter when we have taken time to prepare for that celebration. This year we had a greater emphasis on Lent and Holy week than we have in the past and to me this added so much to my personal celebration of the resurrection.

I want to thank everyone that helped out with all of the events that we shared in leading up to and including Easter. We had a Palm Sunday Service; Holy Wednesday, in which we celebrated Jesus sharing in the Passover meal and instituting the Lord’s Supper; Good Friday in which we observed the stations of the cross; Community Easter Egg Hunt; and on Easter Sunday – 8:00 service, Breakfast, Sunday School and 11:00 service.

First of all I want to thank Ken Smith. Ken did an outstanding job in working with the choir and music for these services. Ken also did a lot of working in planning and arranging the services. I want to thank the choir, the quartet, those who sang solos, instrumentalist, trumpet players, Tim Williford, and others who led in these services. Thanks to the family ministries team and others who helped out with the Easter Egg Hunt. Thanks to the men who prepared our breakfast on Sunday morning.

It really was a great celebration. We need to work to build on the excitement of these events. We had lots of people to join us for these events and we need to invite them back. The fellowship hall was packed for our Easter Egg Hunt and we had 1800 Easter Eggs!! There were 101 in attendance at our 8:00 service and 296 in attendance at our 11:00 service on Resurrection Sunday. It is exciting to have the church filled for special events. Now let’s continue to reach out to those in our community that are not active in church with the Good News – Christ has risen. He has risen indeed.

Finally let me share about a couple of upcoming events. This Sunday, April 15th – communion and Church Family Meeting after the 11:00 worship. Sunday, April 22nd worship will include a focus on organ donation. Dean Corn and Abron Kelly individuals with ties to our church who have received organ donations will take part in the services on April 22nd.
Posted April 04, 2007

As I write this we are in the middle of Holy Week / Easter. We have celebrated Palm Sunday. We are now preparing to celebrate: Wednesday night – Last Supper & the events that night, Good Friday, Outdoor Easter Service (Peter monologue) and our 11:00 Easter Worship & Celebration. Christianity is a journey. We are to walk daily with God. As we journey together through Holy Week / Easter, we also see the ups and downs. We see the crowd cheering Jesus as He enters Jerusalem. We witness the betrayal, the arrest and then on Good Friday – the crucifixion. To Jesus’ early followers, there seemed to be nothing Good about that Friday, but it was followed by a Sunday, a glorious Resurrection Sunday.

In your journey with God, there will be exciting days like Palm Sunday. There will be significant events like Maundy Thursday. There will be low times in which it seems nothing could be any worse than what we are experiencing. This is our Good Fridays. Then as we stay committed to Christ, we will also experience Sundays. These are the times, that we can see good coming through our struggles. I truly believe that God will bring good from anything we experience if we turn it over to Him.

Our Schedule for Resurrection Sunday is:

* 8:00 Outdoor Service
* 8:45 Breakfast
* 9:45 Sunday School
* 11:00 Worship / Celebration

We will also have a Community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday at 10:30. Invite your friends to join you as we Celebrate Christ’s Resurrection.

Also let me share that on April 15th we will have communion and after the 11:00 service we will have a church family meeting. On April 22nd, we will include a focus on the importance of organ donations as a part of our worship. Dean Corn will share about his liver transplant and Abron Kelly and her mom will share about her kidney transplant.

Posted March 28, 2007

I want to begin by thanking the youth who lead in the worship services this past Sunday. You did an awesome job!! We shared in baptisms in both services. The skits were really good. Each speaker did a super job. There was Neil & Chelsy at 8:30 and Brittany, Jeremy & Alan at 11:00. I thought each area of the service was great: the music, the prayers, children's chat, orchestra, instrumentalist, etc. Thanks for sharing and allowing God to use you.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday. It is an exciting time as we enter Holy Week.

Also we will have our CROPWalk on Sunday afternoon. We will meet at the church at 1:30 or you can meet at Duke Chapel at 2:00. I am anticipating about 35-40 walkers from our church. We are having a competition between classes to see which class can raise the most money. A few facts about the walk. It is 4.8 miles. The goal is to have 4,000 walkers and to raise $220,000. Last year we had about 4,000 walkers and raised $200,000. Durham typically is 3rd nationwide in raising money through the CROPWalk. 75 % of the money is for world hunger & 25 % is for local hunger needs.

Let me just mention our Holy Week Schedule:

* Palm Sunday - April 1st - regular schedule, CROPWalk is at 2:00
* Wednesday, April 4th - meal at 5:45, service at 6:30 including communion.
* Good Friday, April 6th service at 7:30 with Stations of the Cross
* Saturday, April 7th - Community Easter Egg Hunt at 10:30
* Resurrection Sunday - April 8th - 8:30 outdoor service
8:45 Breakfast
9:45 Sunday School
11:00 Worship & Celebration

Be planning to attend & participate in these special services. Also invite your friends. Many people who do not attend church on a regular basis will join you if you invite them for Easter.

Posted March 14, 2007

We have designated March as Youth Month. Last Sunday, March 11th, there were youth teaching all of the adult Sunday School classes. I heard some really good comments about what a good job that they did. This weekend, March 17-18, the youth will be away on a Spring Retreat and then on March 25th the Youth will be leading in both morning worship services.

These experiences can be so important for our youth and for our church. I can remember as a teenager taking part in such events. The memories are not all positive. I remember co-teaching a Sunday School class and looking up from my book to see one of the men asleep. His head was leaned back against the wall and his mouth was wide open. It was all I could do at the time to continue the lesson without laughing. I remember sharing preaching responsibilities one Sunday. There were three of us who each gave short sermons. I didn’t realize how nervous I was until I was turning the pages of my notes and my hands were literally shaking so hard that I struggled to get the pages turned. I remember sitting in the choir loft with my friends and the connections that we shared with one another. Through the nervousness and the awkward situations Youth Sundays were times for me to grow in my Christian walk and to help me develop into a Christian leader.

Our youth have so many different things going on in their lives. They have many really good activities that vie for their attention, but they also deal with various temptations. Let’s do all that we can to support them, encourage them, and also to learn and be challenged by them. Youth led Sunday School and worship services can have a big impact on us if we are open to it.

Last Tuesday, I attended a day conference related to call to ministry. There is a much higher number of ministers that are retiring than there are young people going into church ministry. This is a problem throughout protestant churches and even greater concern for Catholics. At the conference, we dealt with how to nurture and support individuals in discerning what God would have them to do as a vocation and to consider ministry. We also dealt with how to support individuals who are making plans for ministry.

The conference not only dealt with the call to ministry, but also hearing and responding to whatever vocational call God has for our lives. Youth led Sunday School and worship services can be helpful to young people in discerning their call. May we support them on these days as well as throughout the year. May we also be open to God’s call on all areas of our lives. May we follow God’s leadership and be faithful to Him.
Posted march 9, 2007

How are you doing in your relationship with God? Are you growing spiritually? These are not questions that we typically ask one another, but perhaps we should. Sometimes even in the work of the church, there are so many things that we get busy doing, that we don’t focus adequately on our relationship with God. If we fail in that area, then we may be doing good things, but not the best things. God is what makes the difference in the lives of Christians and within the church. We are to constantly be centering our lives and our church on God.

The Lenten Season is a time that we are to focus on God in a deep way. We are to reflect on the life of Jesus and especially His love, His sacrifice and resurrection. During Lent you may have made some commitments to do without something, or to be more involved in ministry, reading your Bible, church attendance or working to restore a relationship. I encourage you as you follow through on these commitments and in whatever you do, do it unto God and in a way to draw you closer to God.

As a part of Lent, we have begun a Wednesday night study on Spiritual Disciplines. I hope you will take part in this study. It is a study that is intended for small groups, so I am adapting it for our group. I would love for small groups to form (or for current groups) to use this study and dig deeper with it.

So again I ask, How are you doing in your relationship with God? And are you growing spiritually? If you are not growing, then ask yourself, why not? What do you need to do? What is holding you back? I encourage to you to join our Wednesday study on Spiritual Disciplines, get involved in a ministry and really take seriously the “Radical Teachings of Christ” that we have been studying on Sunday mornings.

Let’s grow together, for our personal spiritual health and in order for God to use us to further the work of God’s Kingdom.
Posted March 4, 2007

I want to begin by welcoming Ken & Christine to our church. Ken is our new minister of Music and Worship. Ken is a great addition to our church staff and ministry team. March 4th will be his first Sunday leading in our worship service. I encourage you to really work to make them feel welcome.

I also want to thank Brenda Doyle for her leadership as interim minister of music and for Pam Woods for her leadership of our early service. They have both done an outstanding job. It was great to be able to recognize them and share: love gifts, certificates of appreciation and a covered dish meal in their honor.

I am looking forward to the next few weeks leading up to Easter. Let me share a little about what’s coming up. First of all March is Youth Month.

* March 11th – Youth teach adult Sunday School classes.
* March 17-18 – Youth Spring Retreat
* March 25 Youth Sunday – Our Youth will lead worship; service will include baptism.
* On Wednesday nights we will be observing Lent by taking part in a study of spiritual disciplines. We will use "A Spiritual Formation Workbook" by James Bryan Smith.

There will be several mission opportunities in the coming weeks:

* Sunday, March 11th - 9:30- 10:00 meeting for those interested in going on a summer mission trip.
* March 11-18 – we will host Interfaith Hospitality Network
* April 1 – CROP Walk. We will again have a competition to see which class or group can raise the most money for world & local hunger needs.
* We also will continue our work with the Refugee Family Ministry.

We are continuing our worship themes on the radical teachings of Jesus, specifically examining the Sermon on the Mount. Upcoming worship themes are:

* March 4 -Matthew 5:38-48 – How we are to Love
* March 11- Matthew 6:19-34 – Money or God?
* March 18 - Matthew 7:1-6, 12 – How to Treat Others

Yes, there are many exciting things happening at our church. Thanks for all that you are doing. I encourage you during this Lenten Season to intentionally have a greater focus on Christ, His love and sacrifice.
Posted February 21, 2007

I am writing this on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lent is the 40 day period leading up to our Celebration of Christ’s resurrection. I encourage you during this Lenten season, to take the opportunity to make this a personal spiritual journey. How can you do this?

First, reflect on your relationship with God. Are there areas in your Christian life that you know you have failed? This could be a sin that you battle and in which you often fail. This could be that you are failing to do the things that will help you grow in your relationship with God: pray, read the Bible, tithe, use your gifts, serve others, witness, etc. Your first step is to take a personal spiritual inventory and to repent to God for areas in which you have failed. Then realize God’s love, grace and forgiveness. Realize Lent is to prepare us for Easter and a celebration of his sacrifice & resurrection that was for our sins.

Second, make a commitment to God for the Lenten Season. This commitment may last beyond Easter, but make a commitment to follow some spiritual discipline through Lent. The commitment could be to: have a daily quiet time; to attend Sunday School, Worship and / or Wednesday night services every week; to tithe; to be involved in a ministry; to use your gifts; to work to restore a broken relationship; or some other commitment.

Finally reflect on God’s love and sacrifice. As we confess our sins and are restored in our relationship with God we will grow through this Lenten Journey. As we commit ourselves to certain spiritual disciplines we will grow deeper and as we will reflect on God’s love and sacrifice we grow closer to God.

As a part of our Lenten journey we will be taking part in a study of spiritual disciplines based on “A Spiritual Formation Workbook” by James Bryan Smith. The schedule for upcoming Wednesday night services is as follows:

* February 28 Joy Turner will be our guest to share about AIDS Alliance, a local ministry to individuals who have AIDS.
* March 7 Discovering a Balanced Vision of Christian Faith & Practice (Life of Jesus)
* March 14 the Prayer- Filled Life (Contemplative Tradition)
* March 21 the Virtuous Life (Holiness Tradition)
* March 28 the Spirit – Empowered Life (Charismatic Tradition)
* April 4 Holy Week focus
* April 11 the Compassionate Life (Social Justice Tradition)
* April 18 the Word-Centered Life (Evangelical Tradition)
* April 25 the Sacramental Life (Incarnational Tradition)
* May 3 Discovering a Practical Strategy for Spiritual Growth

February 18, 2007

I am excited to say that the church has voted to call Ken Smith to be our Minister of Music and Worship! Ken’s first Sunday will be March 4th. He will officially begin the position on February 26th, so he will lead choir practice on February 28th. I have talked to Ken and he is really excited to get here and get started.

I would like to thank Brenda Doyle & Pam Woods for their leadership in our music ministry over the past year. Brenda has done a wonderful job as our interim music minister, leading in the 11:00 service and the choir did an outstanding job last Christmas with the musical. Pam has been leading the early service music for the past year and has really made a difference with the music and praise team for our early service.

I also would like to thank our personnel team. They have been involved in this search process for a full year. With the length of the search, the team did change a bit. Initially, Greg Jenkins was chair and the other members were: Lori Bastian, Jonathan Sauls, Rhonda Welfare, Reid Churchill, and Amy Herring. Karen Roberts was asked to join the team for the search process last summer and later agreed to a three year term with the personnel team. Greg and Rhonda were to rotate off of the personnel team at the end of August, but agreed to remain with the search team through this process. Sally Atwater became a member of the personnel team, and thus the search team, in September and Karen Roberts became the chair of the personnel team in September.

All total, the personnel team received about 200 resumes!! They conducted phone interviews and visited several churches. The team members are diverse and questioned if they would ever be unanimous about a candidate. Ken Smith was the first candidate that the search team unanimously supported. I appreciate all their work, time, prayers, and struggles in leading us through this process.

I encourage you to say a word of appreciation to Brenda Doyle and Pam Woods and the members of the personnel team for all that they have done in the past year. Also, be in prayer for Ken and Christine as they prepare to move to Durham. If you are not currently involved in our music and worship leadership consider joining the choir, praise team, hand bells or other added ministries. Be in prayer for our church and our times of worship together.
Posted January 28, 2007

This weekend, Ken & Christine Smith, will be visiting our church. Ken is being recommended by the personnel team to be our Minister of Music and Worship. He will be meeting with the Adult choir on Saturday to make final plans for the anthem at the 11:00 service. Saturday night, he will be having a meal with the adult choir and hand bell choir members. On Sunday, he will be sharing his testimony at both the 8:30 and 11:00 services. He will sing at the 8:30 service and will lead music and lead the choir at the 11:00 service.

For the past 5½ years, Ken has served as Director of Worship and Music Ministries at First Baptist Church, Laurinburg, NC. During this time he has helped to rebuild the music ministry to one of the strongest in that area. Prior to serving at First Baptist, Ken served as a voice teacher and vocal coach; adjunct instructor of Voice UNC Pembroke; Public Radio Announcer; General Manager of the Carolina Civic Center; Chair of Dept. of Communications and Performing Arts and Professor of Voice, St. Andrews College; Recording Producer; etc. He has also been the director for community theatre productions. As you can see Ken has a varied background and he works to bring it all together in his leadership in music and worship. I have met Ken and I am excited about the possibility of him joining our ministry team here at Hope Valley .

We will have a called Church Family Meeting on Sunday, February 11th after the 11:00 service in which the personnel team will formally recommend Ken Smith to the church and we will have a vote.

I want to thank the members of the personnel team in all the work that they have done to bring us to this point in our journey.
Posted January 21, 2007

I want to thank the women who lead in our services this past week. They did a great job. I appreciate their leadership in these services, but more importantly I am thankful for what they do on a regular basis. As our speaker, Ruby Fulbright said, “the women really run the church.” Mrs. Fulbright brought us a challenging message on missions. She shared that we are to: understand missions, embrace missions, then finally and most importantly we are to live missions.

It was also really exciting Sunday to have three individuals to publicly accept Jesus as their Savior. Ellie Steffen, Katie Brown and Laurin O’Briant accepted Christ on a recent youth retreat and on Sunday, they made their public profession of faith and became candidates for baptism. Keep them and all of youth in your prayers.

January has been a great month for our church with five individuals joining the church and four others being baptized. We have had our Women’s Day. We have made a lot of progress in our search for a Minister of Music and Worship. We have continued our preparation to co-sponsor refugees from Burma and now have an arrival date. Yes, January has been a great month for our church.

There are also lots of exciting plans for February. The refugee family that we are sponsoring are scheduled to arrive the night of January 31st. There are various ways to assist in this ministry including: financial donations (mark envelope for Burmese refugees), donating household goods, clothing, teaching English, providing transportation, food, helping in getting a job, etc. If you are interested in helping out, contact Jennifer Hoffheinz.

The personnel team is recommending Ken Smith as our Full Time Minister of Music and Worship. Ken will be participating in the worship services on Sunday, February 4th, leading the choir at the 11:00 service, singing at the 8:30 service, and leading music and sharing his testimony at both services. We will have a called church family meeting on February 11th after the 11:00 service to vote on calling Ken Smith.

On February 14th, Valentine’s Day, we will have our Annual (Not So) Newlywed Game. This will be on a Wednesday night. The program will begin with a meal in the family life center and then the (Not So) Newlywed Game. This is always a lot of fun.

February 21st is Ashe Wednesday and the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is an important season that we often don’t adequately emphasize. This is a time to prepare us for our celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. During this season, Christians often make extra commitments in their service of God. I would like to challenge all of our church members to be considering what commitment you plan to make. I hope and pray that this Lenten Season can be a time of significant growth for our church family. Your commitment could be in attending Sunday School, worship, and/or prayer meeting every week. It could be to daily read your Bible or to be involved in a mission project (such as Refugee Ministry, IHN, CROP Walk) or other. It could be to reach out to inactive members and those who do not attend church. Your commitment could involve fasting or a financial contribution. Be praying now about the commitment that you plan to make for this Lenten Season.

January has been a great month, but I truly believe February is going to be even better as we continue to serve God and work for the Kingdom.
Posted January 14, 2007

This year is off to a great start. On the first Sunday of 2007, we shared in the baptism of Catherine Kasberg and partook in the Lord’s Supper. At the end of the service Bill & Bonnie Lyon united with our church. On the second Sunday (January 14th) we will share in the baptism of Brian & Christy Green and Steve Eubanks. Also this weekend (January 13-15) our youth will be going on a Winter Retreat.

The third Sunday of January will be Women’s Day. The women will be leading in both the 8:30 and 11:00 worship services. Our guest speaker will be Ruby Fulbright. Ruby is the executive director of the North Carolina WMU. She is a popular speaker at churches and special events and has been a strong leader for the WMU in North Carolina.

I have known Ruby for about 13 years. Her husband previously served as the Director of Missions in the South Roanoke Association which included the church that I served in Williamston. Ruby and her husband Ellis, have also served as missionaries to Africa. I am looking forward to have Ruby come to speak at Hope Valley and challenge us in our mission endeavors.

Yes, this year is starting off really strong. I am also looking forward to other upcoming events including our co-sponsoring a refugee family from Burma. They have not yet arrived, but we are getting ready for them.
Posted January 7, 2007

Happy New Year!! It is hard to believe that another year has begun. I guess it is a sign of my getting older that each year seems to go by faster. A new year is a time to reflect on the past and remember both the highlights of the previous year as well as the struggles. Through the struggles we can learn and grow. At Hope Valley we have had some really significant events over the past year

* Artic Edge VBS with over 200 involved (children & leaders)
* Homecoming with Dr. Murphy
* Going Public with Your Faith & Know Fear small group studies
* Denton Lotz, General Secretary of Baptist World Alliance, guest speaker
* Sunday School Round up – Bill Cox guest speaker, High Steppin' Country afternoon entertainment and record Sunday School attendance of 264
* Bart Campolo, founder of missionyear, guest speaker
* 6th Annual Operation Inasmuch
* 1st Annual Alternative Christmas Gift Market
* Live Nativity
* Christmas Musical
* Approval of Strategic plan
* 28 new church members
* mission trips to Haiti, Hawaii and Myrtle Beach

Along with the highlights, the church is also in a transition in our music ministry. In February, Joi Whittington resigned after 5 ½ years of service as our music minister. We appreciate Joi’s leadership and are supportive of her as she has steped back to enjoy more time with family. Brenda Doyle is serving well as our interim music minister and the church has agreed to employ a full time minister of music and worship.

2007 is a new year. We have a blank page. There are so many possibilities in our personal lives and in the life of our church for this coming year. I am not one to make New Year’s Resolutions, but I do encourage you to renew your commitment to God and to His church as we enter a New Year and let’s see what God has in store for us in 2007!