Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School is June 12-16, from 6pm-8:30pm. On June 12, our kickoff night will begin at 4:30pm. The theme this year is "Submerged." Get Submerged in God's Word at Vacation Bible School. Dive in to find truth below the surface! You can register online when you click here. Once on that page, click the link on the top left titled "Participant Registration."

If you are wanting to volunteer to help, you need to contact Amy Gray. All of the main spots are filled, but we can always use more volunteers to help out. In addition, we have posted a list of food and supplies needed outside the office.

Julie White will be teaching our 5th-6th grade group. They participate in a mission project during the week, and they will need items donated for local foster children. Our kids will collect, sort, and deliver those items at the end of the week. Here are the items they need:
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Feminine hygiene products
Pajamas (new; all sizes--birth through teenager) Socks (new--all sizes) Underwear (new--all sizes) Diapers Wipes

It will help us if you could have them to the church no later than Wednesday, June 15. You can place the items in the brown box in fellowship hall or leave them in the youth room. Please make sure you indicate on the items what they are to be used for.

Finally, I would like to ask you to begin praying if you have not already. I recently read an article that indicated 10% of kids who attend a VBS will be unchurched. WOW! What an opportunity we have. Prayer is a powerful tool we need to use in the next few weeks leading up to and during VBS. Please pray some or all of the following:

1. Pray for the children who will attend. Pray that God will prepare their hearts to learn about Jesus.
2. Pray compassion would fill the hearts of every adult leader.
3. Pray the Gospel will be proclaimed boldly, compassionately, and clearly.
4. Pray the Lord will work through the lives of the children to reach their families with the Gospel.
5. Pray for those who accept Christ. Pray they will get involved in discipleship and grow as Christ-followers.
6. Pray those who attend who are hungry for love and affirmation would find it not just from the leaders but in Jesus.
7. Pray those who do not have a church home will be compelled to get connected at our church.
8. Pray for strength and endurance both physically and spiritually for all leaders and children.
9. Pray for unity among the leaders as they serve together.
10. Pray that what is learned will make a difference in the lives of all who participate.
11. Pray that all leaders will offer their service to the Lord and work for Him and Him alone.
12. Pray for a week of good weather (no rain, not too hot, etc.)
13. Pray for safety during recreation and drop-off/pick-up times.

Mission Opportunities

Yesterday morning we introduced Corbin and Allie Hobbs to our church family. They are church planters in Denver, CO. The name of the church they are launching in February, 2017, is The Heights Church. One of our primary goals this year was to move towards being a church more invested in missions. We have already begun a prayer partnership with two families serving in Indonesia. Our missions team believed it was important we also connect with a church planter here in the U.S. After much prayer and talking with Corbin, we believe this is where God is leading us. Our plan is to have a long-term partnership with the Hobbs. Corbin's long-term goal is for The Heights Church to be a church that plants other churches in the Denver area. We are very excited to be joining with him and what God is doing. We are committing in three ways to The Heights Church. First, we are committing to pray for Corbin, Allie, and The Heights. We will take time once a month in our worship services to pray for them. I hope you will pray more than this. I would love for each one of our members to add this family and their ministry to their daily prayer list. They are looking for a place to meet right now, and I hope you will begin praying the Lord would meet that need. Second, we want to financially support the work Corbin is doing. Initially, we are taking part of our excess from the 2015 budget year and giving it to The Heights Church. We will create a line item in our budget beginning in 2017 to help them on a more consistent level. Finally, we want to send teams throughout the year to help them with any needs they have. Our first opportunity will be this November or December. Corbin has asked if we could send a team of people to help with their first preview service. A preview service is a chance for people in the community to visit The Heights Church and learn what they are about. The church will have a few of these before they officially launch the following February. Our team would spend the majority of our time there canvasing, prayer walking, and hanging door hangers that invite people to The Heights. In addition, we will help prepare for the service. This could include set up, tear down, cleaning, or really anything they need us to do. I hope you will begin now praying and asking if this is something God is calling you to.

I also wanted to let the church know about our annual backpack giveaway. I am super excited about a door God has opened for us. The past couple of years we have given away backpacks to families here at our church. Well, over this past school year we have seen God opening a door for us to work with Murrell Taylor Elementary School. I met with the principal about a month ago, and this year we will host the backpack giveaway at Murrell Taylor in conjunction with their Open House on August 13. We will do everything we normally do here on their property. This includes inflatables, food, music, and handing out backpacks. Our goal the past couple of years has been 300 backpacks, and I believe we can reach that goal again. Soon we will have a list of items from the school that need to be included in the backpack. I hope you will be in prayer for this opportunity, and I hope you will volunteer to show up and help as well. What an incredible opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to our community.

One final quick note is in regards to Vacation Bible School. Julie White is leading the 5th-6th grade class. They participate in a mission project during that week, and they will need items donated for local foster children. Our kids will collect, sort, and deliver those items at the end of the week. Please be on the lookout for those items in the bulletin in the upcoming weeks.

Welcome Kerry Murphy

This past Sunday, May 1, our church unanimously voted to call Kerry Murphy as our Children's Minister. We have been searching for close to 18 months, and God has answered our prayers. If you have not had a chance to meet Kerry, you are going to love her. It is obvious she has a heart for the Lord and for children. She will be a huge asset to our church, and I am excited to see how God is going to use her as she serves here at FBC Jacksonville.

Kerry and Paul have been married for almost two years, and they are brand new parents of Emery who is 2.5 months old. She will start serving with us in the next few weeks, and we are confident God is going to use her in a mighty way here. Please make sure you are praying for Kerry, Paul, and Emery.