Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Newsletter May 2017


First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
P.O. Box 170, Eagle Butte, SD 57625
(605) 964-3617 (Office) / (502) 891-1704 (Pastor’s Cell)
May 24, 2017

Dear Friends,

Once more, the sun is valiantly fighting its way through the cold, and the long winter appears to be behind us.  The cows are giving birth to their young, the flowers are in full bloom, and a general sense of optimism is rapidly taking hold.  Summer is near.
Meanwhile, at First Baptist church, a great many new things have been done, and a good many old traditions have continued.  God continues to bless us through the new and the old, and telling you how He has done so is my privilege.

Prayer is What We Need


Upon reflection this winter, I realized that our church has no regular time to meet together in concerted, corporate prayer.  In an effort to change this, we began using our Wednesday night meetings as a time for prayer among the adults in the church.  Since that time, we have devoted time and energy to this endeavor, and have seen great results.  More than once I have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit upon our gathering.  Sick people have become well, and some of our number with heavy hearts have been encouraged.  But more benefits were to be had than these.  We have also grown closer together as a congregation, and our connection to one another as the Body of Christ has been strengthened.  This change brings great gladness to my heart.


A New Youth Ministry on Wednesday Nights



But the prayer meetings are not the only new things we are doing on Wednesday evenings.  We have also started two new youth ministries-one for the younger kids, and one for the older.  Each Wednesday evening, they have met for a time of special Bible study, song, and fun activities.  The ministry for the young men and women is called “Impact”, and the one for the younger kids is called “Growing in Grace”.  When we recently had a youth Sunday,  I was amazed to see a crowd of young people who were developing into mature, Christian adults.  I’m so proud!




I am also proud to say this: This ministry is not mine-not my idea, and not my execution.  It was the brainchild of Clint and Amy Holley, and of Adam and Rachel Cowan-loyal servants of the Kingdom who I am lucky to have in this church.  They have made their dream into a reality, with the assistance of other faithful helpers-Rebecca Yu, Josh Post and probably someone else who I have clumsily forgotten to mention.  These ministries are living evidence of the great value of the interdependent Body of Christ in action.  No church can function properly through the effort of its pastor alone.  Only by working together, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, can we effectively discharge the Great Commission of our Lord.  I’m just so happy to be a part of it!

Giveaway for the Needy


People call me from all across the country,  telling me that they want to donate such-and-such a thing, and wanting to know if I can use it.  I always tell them the same thing: “If you can get it here, I can get it into the hands of someone who needs it.”  In order to make this distribution, our church hosted a giveaway this March.  Hundreds of clothes, baby items, crafts, and other items found their way into the hands of people who needed them throughout the community.  And since it is always wise to accomplish more than one thing with a single action, we used this giveaway to promote our…


Revival!




Each year, our church collaborates with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to host a revival at our church.  The school sends a speaker here to preach a series of five sermons over the course of four days.  This year, our guest speaker was Anatoliy Orgunov, an immigrant from the Republic of Ukraine.  He brought the Gospel to us consistently for the entire course of the Revival, and the Spirit moved powerfully among the believers.  The services were punctuated with song, prayer, and personal testimony.  May God be praised for using His Spirit to reach out into people’s lives!


Off-the-Wall is Off the Hook!




Years ago, we established the Off-the-Wall ministry, for the purpose of giving teenagers a safe place to enjoy themselves in a Christian context.  We made it our goal to make Friday evenings a time of outreach and general merriment.
Today, Off-the-Wall remains one of our most successful ministries.  Young people often call it “Friday Night”, because it’s almost the only thing happening on Friday evenings around here!   The children play games, eat dinner, and make memories, all while learning that church is a good place to be.  It makes for an excellent platform to invite the young people to some of our other meetings.


Our Women Study the Scriptures Together


My dear wife, Tiffany, has made it her mission to maintain a women’s ministry in the church.  So during the Fall, Winter and Spring,  she holds Women’s Bible studies in our house.  She holds an identical study on Thursday evenings, for the ladies who cannot come on Sunday afternoons.  I cannot give firsthand accounts of how any of these meetings have progressed, of course, since I am the wrong gender.  However, those who attend seem to be very pleased.  Only a few weeks ago, they finished a study entitled “All Things New”, by Kelly Minter.  I am grateful that God has provided me with a wife who will join me in ministry in this way!


We Say Goodbye to a Dear Friend


This last month, our church was full of grief for the passing of our good friend, Connie Jackson.  She had been a faithful member of our church for some years, and had devoted much of her time and energy to the building up of the body of Christ.  While her health had been failing her for some time, she always strove to make it to church, where she spent some of her happiest time.  She was a great aid to many of our summer mission teams, and assisted them in ministering to people in every part of this reservation.  She even had a ministry of her own, in which she partnered with another woman to write hand-written thank-you notes to hundreds of police officers, firefighters, hospital staff and teachers.  She was as sweet and humble a woman as I have ever known, and we will all miss her dearly.  Goodbye, Connie.  I’m already looking forward to seeing you again.


Teaching the Next Generation



Here at First Baptist Church, we place a high priority on raising the next generation.  For this reason, we send vans around the community every Sunday, picking up children and taking them to church.  We feed them breakfast, then give them a Sunday School lesson.  These special young people have grown and developed as the years went by, and learned many truths about God.  I am very proud of our Sunday School teachers and nursery workers.  Amy Holley and Richelle Hall work with the kids in the nursery.  My wife, Tiffany, teams up with Beth McLeod to teach the younger children.  The older kids are taught by William Hall and Rachel Cowan.  And Clint Holley and Adam Cowan teach the adults.  Together, through a concentrated team effort, we turn Sunday mornings into a learning experience for everyone, even before worship begins.  God has blessed this church with many willing volunteers, and for that I am exceedingly grateful.

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-and you can get it in color!  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



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