Newsletter December 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)

December 16, 2014

Dear Friends,

Autumn has come and gone, and here in Eagle Butte the farmers and ranchers have hunkered down for a long winter’s chill.  Here you see a picture of a pile of freshly-harvested corn, as well as the snow-covered peak of nearby Bear Butte.  

I confess that I am somewhat distrustful of the weather here in the wintertime.  The locals insist that, even though I have lived here for three and one-half years, I have yet to experience a “real South Dakota winter”.  I have seen some very cold days, to be certain, but I have heard stories of six-foot snowdrifts and wind chills that drop as low as negative fifty degrees.  So as I head into the month of December, I have to ask myself, “Is this the year that I see a REAL winter?”  Who can say?  But one way or the other, I’ll be staying indoors.

                                                 

                                               Thanksgiving Giveaway  

Each November, our church hosts a giveaway at which anyone in the community who is in need can come and get what they want.  This giveaway is made possible exclusively through the donations of clothing, shoes, and other things from our friends in every part of the country.  For those of you who sent us these useful items in the past several months, you have the thanks of all the people here in Eagle Butte.  We will be a little warmer this winter because of your efforts.

The Thanksgiving giveaway is also significant because it is used to promote one of our biggest outreach events… 

Our Annual Community Meal

Every Thanksgiving, First Baptist Church hosts a community meal, with the help of our friends at Hamilton Baptist Church in Virginia.  People from all over the community are invited to come and enjoy a good meal, as well as give thanks to our Lord for the blessings we enjoy.  In addition, some of our young people from the Off-the-Wall ministry usually volunteer to serve tables.  This year, word got around fast.  Over two hundred people were served, which is a new record for us!  And afterward, it was clear that many of these had read the tracts that we had laid at each place setting.  Only the Lord knows all the different ways He used this evening for His purposes.  But I know that a lot of people left the church that evening with full stomachs and happy faces.

A New Feature in our Sanctuary

It always makes me happy when I can find something that no one wants, and put it to good use.  This happened recently when I was at the local unemployment office.  A number of pew bookracks were sitting there, in a corner.  When I asked about them, I was told that no one seemed to know what they were, or what to do with them.  When I asked if I could have them, they happily agreed.  When I got them back to the church, I screwed them all into the wall of our sanctuary.  Then I filled them with Bibles, which had been  donated by a friend of ours.  I put a sign on the wall, indicating that anyone who needed a Bible could take one-no questions asked.  I am happy to report that in only a few weeks’ time, over a dozen Bibles have gone missing from these racks!

  

Sunday School at First Baptist

Every Sunday Morning, we make it a priority to bring the Gospel to the children of this community.  For this reason, we send out vans to all corners of Eagle Butte, for the purpose of giving children rides to the church.  Once here, we serve them breakfast. For some of these children, it will be the first substantial meal they have had since Friday, when they had school lunch.  Afterward, the children are divided by age groups and sent to their various classrooms, where they learn the teachings of scripture.  Then they are given a ride home.  It is a wonderful thing that we have the opportunity to perform this service!

  

The Christmas Season Begins

Here at First Baptist Church, we are often the recipients of gifts and assistance from friends of ours who are more fortunate than ourselves.  It is only right, according to the way the Kingdom of Heaven works, that we should also reach out to those less fortunate than ourselves.  This is doubly true at Christmastime, when we celebrate God’s greatest gift to us-the gift of His own Son.  

For this reason, we have developed a tradition of donating shoeboxes full of needful things to Operation Christmas Child every year.  With the help of this charitable organization, our gifts will be flown to other countries: nations torn apart by war, poverty, and despair. They will then be given to needy children who would otherwise have nothing for Christmas.  A toothbrush, a comb, a candy cane and a small toy can mean the world to a child.  And this year we managed to pack and send enough boxes to make ten children’s Christmases a little bit merrier.

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. 

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