Dear Church Family,

“Rain, rain, go away, come again another day….”  It’s another rainy day today and it appears it will last for the next 24 hours at least.  But at least the NFL football season begins this week AND the Cubs are still in first place in their division!

Well enough of trivial things.  Let’s turn again to something that should be of interest to all of us here at BGBC and that is Thom Rainer’s article we have been looking at the past couple of weeks; “Five Types of Church Members Who Will Not Return after the Quarantine.”  We’ve looked at three, let’s finish by looking at the last two.

  1. The Constant-critic church member. These church members are always upset about something and can always find something to criticize.  They are the “sky is falling” person.  The glass is “half empty” person.  Or as I heard someone say recently, “a Debbie downer” (no offense to our “Debbie’s” out there).  One thing I’ve observed as a result of this pandemic is that it has exacerbated the angst and critical bent in some of these people.  Rainer says that even though most of these people have not returned to in-person services, it has not modified their complaints and they are unlikely to return.
  2. The Cultural Christian Church Members. Every church of every denomination has church members that can be labeled as “cultural Christians.”  Rainer says these are members who likely were not Christians or nominal Christians but came to church to be accepted culturally or simply want the fellowship and relationships they readily find at church.  They may “talk the talk” but don’t “walk the walk.”  These cultural Christians learned during the pandemic that it was no big deal to miss church.  Therefore, it will be no big deal for them never to return.

Rev. Rainer concludes with this encouraging statement; “Church leaders and church members should not fret about these losses.  The church has the opportunity to write its future on a blank slate, and these church members really had no plans to be part of that future anyway….the best days are likely ahead.” 

Church Family News

Deacon Nomination begins.  We’ve had to delay this process due to the pandemic but with the church re-gathering in June and the relaxing of some restrictions we are moving ahead with this process.  Judy has posted on REALM the 2020 Deacon Nomination Form.  This document describes the biblical qualifications of Deacons and provides a timeline for this process.  Our goal is to identify suitable candidates for the church to vote on at the October 25th business meeting.  Judy also has copies available in the church office and they will be made available the next two Sundays until September18.  Nominations will be placed in a box in the church office or in the FMC/Sanctuary on Sundays.

Beginnings Pre-School.  Our church pre-school begins September 14 with ten students enrolled.  Cathy Jo Gray continues as the director and Lisa Shields takes over for Kristin Bissoon temporarily as lead teacher.  Please pray for them and the Board as they navigate ministry to our pre-schoolers during this pandemic.

Prayer Ministry.  Daniele Cushing has been burdened to help our church grow in intercessory prayer.  During the Covid-19 pandemic she posted opportunities for corporate prayer via a conference phone call twice a week.  We are going to continue that but with a change in times to:

  • Sunday mornings at 9am in the Philathea room with Pastor Frank. We will be praying for our morning worship services as well as for our church.  Daniele is attempting to make this time available for our off site prayer warriors so stay tuned.
  • Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm via phone. This is a change from 7pm.   The phone number remains as:

712-432-8399 and the access code is:  279785#

Alma Hunt Offering for Missions.  Every September our church along with many other SBC churches in Virginia seek to support the work of the BGAV mission programs.  This has traditionally been led and promoted by our WMU.  They have been in “hibernation” these last few months due to the pandemic and the subsequent ramping down of some church ministries.  However, as a church, we still have an opportunity to send our gifts.  The stated goal of this program is; “…to focus on human needs arising from the COVID-19 crisis.”  A timely and worthwhile goal.  I plan to contribute and you can to.  Just designate your monetary gift either by check, cash (in an envelope), or via E-giving to “Alma Hunt Missions.”  We will be collecting these gifts through September 30th.

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  1. Remember in prayer:
    1. Chris Caldwell’s Mother facing life’s final passage and the family.
    2. Members of our church family facing surgeries and other life issues.
    3. All our frontline workers, in and out of our church, who work hard each day serving and protecting us during this pandemic.

I love you all,

Pastor Frank