Thursday, April 3, 2014

Newsletter April 2014

First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte

P.O. Box 170, Eagle Butte, SD 57625

(605) 964-3617 (Office) / (605) 891-1704 (Pastor’s Cell)

April 4, 2013

Dear Friends,





Spring has arrived in Eagle Butte, but someone forgot to inform the weather of that fact.  Two days ago, we had a freak blizzard that dropped a foot of snow on the city and the surrounding countryside.  Schools were closed while everyone dug their way out.  An icicle, roughly the size of a broadsword, formed on my roof.  Sometimes, people from the southern United States ask me how we cope with the cold temperatures and flash blizzards here in South Dakota.  And my answer is always the same:
“We don’t go outside when it’s too cold.”














                                                Revival!

Last year, our church hosted a guest speaker from Texas, who came in and preached a series of revival meetings at our church.  It went so well that we decided to schedule another revival this year!  A guest preacher was sent to us from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  His name was Roger Elkins, and together we ran a veritable marathon of ministry!  Every day, for four days, he and I would go throughout the community, promoting the revival.  During the evenings, he would preach.  It was an exhausting thing for the two of us, but more than worth it!  By our estimates, at least one in every ten people in the entire city was given a flier by one of us during the course of the week.  But that was only part of the week’s activities.



On Monday, we hosted a clothing giveaway at the church.  Hundreds of items were given away to needy families from all over town.  Each person who came in to get something also left with a flier, advertising the revival.  In this way, we supplied clothing to the needy while promoting the revival at the same time.  All of this was made possible by fellow Christians like you, who donated clothing over the past few months.  Thank you!





In the evenings, when the revival itself was going on, we would always open with a time of fellowship and snacks.  Then we would move to the sanctuary, where we would sing the Lord’s praises, and listen to the message our speaker had for us that evening.  Some of the best revivals involve cooperation among denominations, so we were happy to have some ladies from the Lutheran church volunteer to sing as part of this special occasion. 
  




But I think the highlight of each evening was the time devoted to testimonies.  For every night of the revival, I arranged for someone to give their Christian testimony, telling what Christ had done for their lives.  Our congregation wept along with the presenters, as Jesus was glorified over and over again through the testimony of one, two, three, and four witnesses.  When it was all over, we felt…revived.
A Weekly Women’s Bible Study


The women of the church are just finishing up a Bible study on the subject of Gideon.  Each Sunday, they meet after church, watch a video that goes with the lesson, and discuss the subject of the Bible study and its relevance to their lives.  It has become a more popular ministry than I would have guessed, with attendance similar to our Wednesday night meetings.  Women from the local Lutheran church, women from the Baptist church in the neighboring town of Dupree, and even some women who do not come to church at all have been coming to this Bible study.  I am very proud of my wife, who is leading the study.  Unfortunately, I can’t see her in action, since I’m not allowed in a women’s Bible study!
Windswept Academy Gets a New Facility




After months of construction, Windswept Academy’s new building has been completed.  This facility houses a kitchen, a new classroom, and a diverse space that can serve as both a cafeteria and gymnasium.  Additional classrooms are expected to be added as soon as the school can afford it, to accommodate their growing student body.  The students and faculty celebrated with an open house, where all of the children’s parents were welcome.  I had the honor of offering the opening prayer to bless this new facility. 
A Funny Thing Happened One Friday Night…



Do you mind if I tell you a funny story?  A few weeks ago, during our Off-the-Wall ministry, two young girls came to me with a sense of urgency that only 12-year-olds can pull off without seeming insincere.  “Pastor Ben!”  They said.  “You have to come out and see what’s on your shed!”  When I followed the girls out to our shed, I saw a place where a vandal had scrawled profanity on the wall.  We have a policy about vandalism at this church: Vandals are to be shown that our capacity to restore and rebuild is greater than their capacity to destroy.  We repair any damage immediately, and give no vandal any satisfaction in his handiwork.  “I guess I’ll have to paint over this”, I said.  “Ooh! Could we do it????”, the girls asked.  I was so surprised to see this much enthusiasm for work coming from pre-teens that I gave them permission.  When they got done, they expressed dissatisfaction with one side of the shed having a splotch that was whiter than the rest.  I was so pleased to see their enthusiasm for helping that I let them put white polka dots all over the shed, to balance it out.  The end result was a little silly, but it does my heart good to see young people maturing into responsible adults.
Merryville Christian School Pays Us A Visit




Usually, First Baptist Church enjoys the great honor of playing host to a number of church groups in the summertime, who assist us in everything from Vacation Bible School to various construction projects.  But rarely do we get this pleasure during the colder part of the year, since the threat of spontaneous blizzards can make travel arrangements unpredictable.  But this March, the students of Maryville Christian School in Tennessee decided to brave all in order to do this very thing for us.  A group of students willingly sacrificed their spring break, and made the long trek up to Eagle Butte.  They arrived on Saturday evening, worshipped with us on Sunday morning, and soon engaged themselves with the students of Windswept Academy.  They provided tutoring for some of the children, and even put on a biblically-inspired play for them.  But their assistance to the school was only beginning.




With the help of a few skilled professionals from Maryville Christian School, the youth of that group set about a variety of small-to-medium-sized construction projects in Windswept Academy’s facilities.  Surpassing all of these, by far, was a complete remodeling of the school’s library, making it brighter, airier, and more usable than it has ever been before.  Our thanks goes out to you, Maryville Christian School, for your help with these projects!




So perhaps you are wondering how you can become a partner with us in our ministry here in Eagle Butte?  If so, then we are happy to tell you, since we welcome assistance from the body of Christ. Here is what we need the most:

Prayer.  It may be true that our church is getting along very well at the moment, and that God is doing great things here.  But it is precisely when a church is being used by God that Satan does all in his power to destroy it.  So please pray, my brothers and sisters.  Pray that our leadership will keep their hearts pure and humble, and that we will live at peace with each other.  Pray that we will be protected from the power of the enemy, and that God’s Holy Spirit will shine through in our lives.  Pray that the Lakotas in the community will come to know the Lord, and that the commitment they make will not be a superficial group of words, but a real change in their Spirits that will alter the course of their lives for eternity. 

E-mail addresses.  For those of you who have e-mail addresses, please send them to me.  That way, these monthly newsletters can be forwarded to everyone in your church who wants one!  Just send your name and e-mail address to me at benfarrar777@hotmail.com, and I’ll make sure you receive this newsletter as often as it comes out.

Financial Assistance.  Our church is fortunate to have members who are generous in their giving. But some of our most generous members are, nevertheless, very poor.  We have long been blessed with assistance from outside churches and individuals, and we try to use those gifts wisely and well. 

This month, a financial gift was made to the church in honor of Catherine Farrar.
This month, a financial gift was made to the church in honor of Ellen Mustoe.
This month, a financial gift was made to the church in honor of Lillian Whetzel.
This month, a financial gift was made to the church in memory of Edwin and Lillian Powell.
This month, a financial gift was made to the church in memory of Jane Williams.

If any one of you wishes to bless the church with a financial gift, you may send it to:

 First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
P.O. Box 170
Eagle Butte, SD 57625 

May God bless you all, and draw you closer to Himself each and every day.

Yours in Christ,


Rev. Ben Farrar

Pastor

First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte



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