First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
P.O. Box
170, Eagle Butte, SD 57625
(605)
964-3617 (Office) / (605) 891-1704 (Pastor’s Cell)
August 18th,
2012
Dear
Friends,
MADDIE’S
LAST MONTH HERE
Maddie
Holman, our church’s summer intern, finished her time here on a very strong
note. She drove children to a Christian
Summer camp, assisted with last month’s newsletter, continued to help lead
worship, continued to help teach Sunday School, and gave a great deal of
assistance to the church group visiting from Sevier Heights Baptist
Church. In fact, she has been such a
blessing to our church that we have decided to look for opportunities to bring
other interns to this area.
AN
OUTREACH TO THE HOSPITAL COMMUNITY
One
of Maddie’s last projects involved coordinating an outreach event to the
hospital community. Under my
supervision, she put together all of the elements needed to provide a breakfast
for the staff of our hospital. This was
done as a gesture of thanks for everything that the hospital staff does for
this community. On the day of the event,
we laid out a buffet-style breakfast for the staff to enjoy. While they ate, church members were on hand
to socialize with them and show them our gratitude. It was a huge hit! Hospital staff was happy to be shown some
kindness without strings attached, and many stayed to chat with our church
members. We are looking to do more of
these events in the future, and possibly branch out to include other
institutions, like the police or fire department!
VISITING
FRIENDS FROM EAST TENNESSEE
In the middle part of
July, we received a much-anticipated visit from some of our friends to the
south: Sevier Heights Baptist Church of Tennessee. With their customary energy and spirit, this
group of self-sacrificing Christian brothers and sisters went right to work,
helping this reservation in any way they knew how. Among their many ways of helping was to set
up a Vacation Bible School for two of the outlying settlements on this
reservation: Red Scaffold and Bear Creek.
They were well-received, and their show of caring was deeply
appreciated. They taught the Gospel to
these outlying settlements, played games with the children, had music, and
generally brought a bright patch into these children’s lives. But they were not content to stop there.
Wishing to connect with
the youth of Eagle Butte, the Sevier Heights group requested that they be
allowed to host a special Off-the-Wall event on Tuesday. They provided all the food and supplies that
would be necessary, so how could I refuse?!
The evening went smoothly and happily.
Sevier Heights played games with the youth, ate supper, and enjoyed a
little music. When everything was over,
Sevier Heights cleaned the church building so that it looked like they had
never been there. We are grateful to these
friends of ours, and look forward to welcoming them back for as long as God
pleases to send them.
A
NEW MINISTRY FOR FIRST BAPTIST
One of the joys of
being a minister is to watch the spiritual growth and development of the church
members. An easily observable milestone
in this growth comes when one of the members takes it on themselves to begin
actively serving in the church. Such an
occurrence happened recently when Leslie Morrison, one of our church members,
asked to use the church space for a “women’s talking circle” on Monday and
Thursday nights. This activity is
designed around women who are trying to break free of addictions to alcohol and
drugs of various kinds. In this respect,
it is not unlike Alcoholics Anonymous.
But unlike AA, the group that meets in our church does not merely
vaguely suggest that addicts put their faith in some “higher power”. Instead, Leslie intentionally designed this
program around leaning on Jesus Christ for the strength you need to overcome
addictions. This program has been
proceeding entirely under her initiative, and I have been delighted to watch it
grow. It is even resulting in some new
attendees on Sunday morning!
FRIENDS FROM AFAR SEND HELP TO THOSE
WHO NEED IT
Southside Baptist Church in Suffolk Virginia heard about our ministry here and was pleased to send us a generous gift of clothing. There were 14 boxes of clothing total-each one nearly 3 feet high! We set to work on the clothes, preparing to distribute them to the community. We allowed the children who are bused into our Sunday School and the children of Windswept Academy to have their first pick of the many good things that were available. Then we opened it up to the community, and our fellowship hall was filled with guests! Many children walked away with school clothes that day, and many adults were happy to find a few things, too. When we were finished, we gathered all the clothes that were left over and took them down to the local thrift store, so that they could continue to be distributed to the people who need it. Thank you, Southside Baptist Church, for making this possible!
VISITORS
ENHANCE WINDSWEPT ACADEMY
Assisting us with the
distribution of clothes was Charles Town Baptist Church from Charles Town, West
Virginia. But this was only one, and not
the greatest, of the help they provided to the people of this community. In the space of only a few days, they gave a
fresh coat of paint to every surface of Windswept Academy that had not recently
been painted. When they were finished,
the place glowed! Not only this, but
they also played games with the children who came to the clothing giveaway, and
gave them some toys, as well. This is
Charles Town Baptist Church’s first trip out here, and they will always be
welcome among us.
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.
You
might especially pray for our new women’s talking circle, which Leslie is
working to establish. She has never done
anything like this before, and it can always be frightening to strike out into
the unknown. Pray that God will help her
find support, encouragement and guidance, and that we as church members will
know how to support this ministry. Pray,
too, for the ladies of this group, that God will give them the help they need
to recover from their addictions and find their strength in the Lord.
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. If you prefer to receive it by regular mail,
just ask! I aim to please.
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.
If any 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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