Thursday Thoughts

Call for Student Prayer Partners  

The majority of our students have already begun a new school year and are adjusting to a new school calendar.  Think about all that a new school year brings – new teachers, harder subjects, new friends, peer pressure and new school campuses for some of our students.  Add to that the challenges and concerns about safety on school campuses.  Our students need the prayer support of their church family.    

We were so blessed last year by the response of our church family that we were able to pair all of our students in 3-K through college with prayer partners.  We hope to do the same again this year.  We are asking each prayer partner to pray at least once a week for 3-4 students.  When you receive your list of students with contact information, we ask that you let them know that you are their prayer partner for this school year. We would encourage prayer partners to send a few cards during the school year, but that is optional.   

If you would be willing to bless the lives of our students by praying for them, please contact Sara Adams at 803-292-8551 or at barry_adams@bellsouth.net.  There will also be sign-up sheets in the Sunday School packets.  Thank you for being a loving, caring church family as we entrust our students into God’s care this school year through our prayers.  

The Prayer Ministry Team 

It almost sounds inane to write it, but it is time for us to think about Christmas!!!! Specifically, it is time to think about our Christmas Cantata! For those who may not be in the know, the Christmas Cantata is one of our larger music endeavors here at Aiken’s First Baptist Church. A service that this year will take place at 11:00 am on December 17, it is an experience filled with music. For that hour, you will hear narrative set to music detailing the beauty of this season. The Sanctuary Choir will sing, instrumentalists will accompany, and a beautiful form of worship will occur. This year, we will be preparing Lloyd Larson’s The Glory of Christmas. It is going to be a wonderful experience. We plan on bringing in 11 wonderful string and woodwind players to enrich the presentation that much more. What I would love is to fill out the choir loft and make this a morning to remember! This opportunity is truly open to all, and I mean that. Whether you believe you can sing or not is immaterial. We aim to assemble a group that is passionate about joining together in a wonderful form of worship. All you need to possess is a heart for collaboration. On Sunday, September 10, from 3:00 pm – 6:30 pm we will have our Cantata Kickoff. This is a fun filled afternoon where you can get exposed to this year’s cantata. The Music Council works hard to make this a meaningful event. There will be drawings for prizes, singing, laughter, and the day concludes with a fabulous Italian meal in appreciation of all of your efforts. If you are a parent or caretaker of children, know that childcare will be available for the duration of the event! Even if you cannot attend the kickoff, we still want you to sing! The following Wednesday, September 13, and each Wednesday after, the first thirty minutes of Sanctuary choir rehearsal will consist of Cantata practice. After that 30 minutes, those who are involved only with the Cantata are free to depart! It is my hope that by lowering the bar for involvement, some may feel comfortable singing that haven’t before. I do hope that you will prayerfully consider this opportunity. It is such a powerful way to help lead in worship, and I assure you it will be a memory that you will carry with you for many years to come. Take a leap and come sing with us!

Zach Derr

Director of Music & Worship

This summer was quite a busy one! It felt like something was happening every week leading up to our youth summer camp Unidiversity. My first day of work was right when we kicked off for lunch clubs, so it was a fun segway into seeing some of the youth I hadn’t seen during church or the school year. Along with our usual lunch clubs, Sarah added a new activity called Wacky Wednesdays, where I was free to decide and plan what we would be doing on some Wednesdays throughout the summer! This was the first of many “do it yourself” moments Sarah offered me this summer, which I gladly did, and I enjoyed the freedom to plan some activities. Among the other “do it yourself” moments, Sarah tasked me to re-populate the third floor with current pictures of our youth which I have loved being able to do, and if you have the chance to check it out, I highly recommend you do! This task gave me a great space to reflect on the past two years I have spent with these kids and how much we have all grown together in faith and friendship. Among the many things I enjoyed and felt comfortable doing, there is always something that is not very comfortable: writing/creating my devotion to do with our youth during our Prayer Breakfasts. I struggled with writing the devotion initially, and while it did become easier, it was still something I was new to. But I feel that being pushed out of my comfort zone was beneficial. It made me try things I wouldn’t usually try, perform well, and learn from what I was doing.

Along with spending time with the youth, I also got some time with some of the younger kids during VBS, which was so much fun. I was a crew leader for the first time in I’m not sure how long for the preschoolers, which I always did when I was in youth! So it was fun to expand my reach that week and move out of my realm of youth. Aside from working with our youth and kids, there is also all the other stuff I could do as I did last year: reading scripture, doing a couple of children’s sermons, and different related worship roles. I have always enjoyed being involved in worship. I feel like it shows that anyone can be involved (especially younger people like me)! On that note, some of y’all may have been at Church this past Sunday for children and youth Sunday and seen the kids’ involvement! This is always one of my favorite Sundays, to have everyone hear all the kids talk about their experiences from the summer. This Sunday, I was able to give a little snippet of my summer experience to give y’all an insider’s view into the life of a youth intern!  Along with everything else, I was able to build some stronger relationships with everyone on staff and had lots of fun with them these past two months. Even though this summer was busy, I really enjoyed how supportive everyone has been in everything I have done this summer, and I am so grateful that I could do this internship these past two years, and I’m so excited for next year to continue to learn and try new things!

Emily Berry

Youth Intern

This summer, I had the pleasure of working as the intern for the Children’s Ministry. We had a shorter summer this year due to the change of the public school schedule, and therefore we had four straight weeks of camps!

After VBS, we had a short basketball camp led by Mike and Matt Epps. I had the opportunity to lead the kids in a devotion two out of the three days. Leading a devotion opened my eyes to the opportunity I had to teach the kids about what it means to be a Christian. Taking care of babies and playing with toddlers on a Sunday morning is one thing but teaching our elementary-age kids about how to show God’s love (even through basketball) showed me that there are opportunities for everybody all the time to be Christian role models.

My favorite camp this summer was Passport! Although I fell down some steps on the second day, I never felt like I missed out on the activities. The main reason I still felt so included even while I could not walk very far, was because of our students. I had the privilege to ride in the backseat with the four girls for the three hour trip up there. I can remember when some of these girls were born, so it was exciting to see how they had grown up. Unfortunately, there were some quite memorable (and not fun) mishaps, but these girls continued to participate with unwavering energy. It was an amazing experience to get to know these girls on a more personal level. The most special moment for me during the entire time we were there was at lunchtime after I fell down the steps. I hobbled my way over to the dining room and waited for the girls to come from their craft rotation. When they saw me, they ran up and hugged me all at once and presented me with a gift they made for me after they heard I got hurt. I’ll be honest, I almost started crying. In just a short amount of time of getting to know them, these girls showed compassion in such a genuine way. They continued to show compassion by sharing their snacks and giving me a nickname (please don’t ask me what it is) and checking up on me. I am grateful that I can say that I am truly friends with these girls.

Another reason Passport was my favorite camp this summer was because our new Minister for Children and Families came along. In fact, the drive up there was his first day! I had a wonderful time getting to know him and seeing how he interacts with our students. I felt nervous that he would take over and leave me and Ellen in the dust. However, I was put to ease when I saw how he regarded both me and Ellen in our respective roles. Even though I am not going into ministry or education, I felt seen and heard as an equal. To be honest, being an adult in this church is a new position for me since coming back from college. I am being granted responsibility that I have never had before as a student or youth, and sometimes I feel like I need an Adult to help me before I remember that I am the Adult. So, to be respected as an Adult even when I don’t feel like an Adult, gives me the strength and the inspiration to be an Adult.

If you liked hearing about my summer with the Children’s Ministry, then I invite everybody this Sunday to hear from our children and youth themselves. Although this has been a shorter summer, it has been no less eventful. This Sunday, we also encourage all children and youth to bring their backpacks (textbooks not required) to church, but not for a math lesson. During the service, we will be doing the Blessing of the Backpacks where we ask for blessings for our kids as they start a new school year. As we start another wonderful year of learning, I am excited to watch our children grow.

Gretchen LeGrand

Five Years Times Two

In the next couple of weeks, we have the great privilege of marking 5-year anniversaries for two of our staff members—Ellen Looper and Zach Derr.  Even though I came on board at the church after both of them, it still feels like we shouldn’t be at the 5-year mark; surely that much time has not passed already!

On Sunday, July 30, we will recognize Ellen Looper’s incredible ministry among us as our Children’s Minister.  She joined the staff in an interim role and the personnel committee quickly realized that she should be asked to remain on staff in a more permanent position because of the amazingly gifted minister that she is.  Ellen guided our children’s ministry through that time of initial transition, she cared for our children through the pandemic, she helped us find our footing again once the pandemic waned, and she has brought a stabilizing wisdom to our staff team and church as a whole.  I have been blessed by her ministry, her care, and her friendship, and I know all of us could say the same.

In addition to marking Ellen’s 5-year anniversary, we will also recognize and give thanks for her ministry as she steps out of her role as our part-time Children’s Minister.  She has overlapped with Matt, our new, full-time Minister to Children and Families for the last few weeks in order to assist with camps already in progress and to help Matt launch into the position well.  It is bittersweet transition.  I know that all of us on staff are excited about the opportunities that Matt’s full-time role will bring and, at the same time, we are sad that we will not get to work directly with our colleague and friend, Ellen, in the ways we have these past five years.  I imagine many of you feel the same way.  So we give thanks for Ellen, for her ministry, and for the gift she will continue to be to all of us as a fellow member of our church family.  I hope you will make plans to be present as we recognize Ellen with a reception following worship this Sunday, July 30.

Then, on Sunday, August 6, we will recognize Zach Derr’s wonderful ministry among us as our Director of Music, Worship, and Media.  Zach joined our staff in a part-time role while he continued his good work as a Middle School Band Director.  Similar to Ellen, the personnel committee recognized the gifts of and calling to ministry that was evident in Zach’s life and service and subsequently invited him to take on a full-time roll.  We are all better for the fact that he said yes to that invitation and has continued to say yes to his calling to ministry by diving into an online Master of Divinity program with McAfee School of Theology while continuing his full-time duties here at the church.  In addition to all the leadership you see Zach give to our choir, music, and worship at church, he also oversees our website, livestream, church app, and communication efforts and produces our Rooted and Grounded podcast.  While we all adapted during the pandemic, Zach’s role may have changed the most.  Yet, his heart of service remained steadfast through it all.  We are a better church for his ministry and presence among us.

Grace and Peace,
John Carroll

At the end of June, I had the opportunity to attend the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) General Assembly in Atlanta, GA. I was grateful that Sarah Laurence and Matt Waller were able to go this year and that we were able to bump into Cathy Cole who attended a portion of the assembly, as well. Due to the pandemic and other factors, it had been 4 years since I had last attended a General Assembly, and it was a great joy to be able to gather with friends old and new once again. While I do not have the space to share all of the things that made it a joy, I do want to share a few highlights.

Some of the greatest opportunities of any General Assembly are found in the spaces between and around the official worship and workshop sessions when you can catch up with friends and meet new colleagues in ministry. These conversations are always an encouragement for one’s spirit, often inspire new ideas and insights for ministry, and can even lead to new and unexpected partnerships. One of the cups of coffee I was able to share was with Rev. Angela Zimmerman. If you recognize that name, it is probably because you have prayed for her. She was the Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church of Danville when I was called to from there to serve as your pastor. She has since been called as the pastor of another church in Virginia. Angela is a dear friend, and we were looking forward to catching up on life and ministry in general. However, I also wanted to see how she was doing because she and her church had been a target of a recent campaign by a few intolerant individuals to highlight Baptist churches with some form of connection to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) who had female pastors or ministers. The goal of that campaign was to say that women should not be pastors of any kind and that churches who have female pastors should be removed from the SBC. Angela had weathered that ordeal well; she was being actively supported by her church; and, in the midst of local media attention about it all, she was steering away from the controversy to highlight the good that her church had been doing and would continue to do in the community in the name of Jesus. It was good for my heart to see and hear that she was doing ok. Yet, I know I will continue to pray for her and other female ministers who were targeted, and I would ask you to do the same.

Another highlight of the General Assembly stood as an incredible contrast to the difficultly Angela had to navigate—it was a dinner attended by nearly 700 people to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM), an organization that focuses on supporting and advocating for female ministers. We had the opportunity to speak words of blessing over female ministers—including our very own Sarah Laurence. We got to hear from leading voices advocating for ways women can be affirmed and supported in local churches. We were also able to participate in the kick-off of BWIM’s Multiply Campaign by collectively contributing $27,000 toward their good work in just 15 minutes that very night. The whole event emphasized the clear support that the CBF family gives to women in ministry.

The final highlight that I want to name for you was not any particular event, but was simply an awareness of the growing diversity of the CBF family. CBF has done good, intentional work over the last few years to partner with Hispanic and African-American churches and ministers. The fruit of that good work could be clearly seen not only in the make-up of those attending but also in the leadership of worship and in the content of workshops. We will all be better churches, ministers, and disciples for having the opportunity to fellowship with and learn alongside a greater breadth of God’s church.

Grace and Peace,

John Carroll

I haven’t been to camp in a long time, but as I write this I have the privilege of listening to our youth having a blast at Unidiversity. Over the last couple of days, I’ve gotten to worship alongside them, to race them on a bouncy obstacle course, to laugh at their jokes, to listen in as they process what they are learning about God, and to get to know them better. We have such great youth. And we have such great kids off at their own camp at Passport this week too.

As I’ve been enjoying chaperoning for a couple of days, I’ve been thinking about the adults that were involved in the youth program I came up through—the ones who chaperoned the trips and the ones who showed up week in and week out to love on us crazy kids. Mr. Bill, who could somehow make our automatic 15-passenger van feel like it was manual in need of some clutch work. Mrs. Barbara, who had everything organized and had a spare of anything that someone might forget to pack. Mr. Thomas, whose calm, quiet soul could bring peace to any moment. Mrs. Diane, who could prep any food necessary. All of these and so many more made a huge impact on me, not because they were my youth minister but because they showed up, loved me as I was, listened when I needed to talk, offered kind wisdom, and kept pointing me to Jesus.

I’m writing, not just to reflect on this week with our youth nor to reminisce about 25 years ago, but to let you know we need some of you to step up and be those adults that make a difference in the lives of our youth by showing up, by loving them, and by pointing them to Jesus. Outside of Sunday School and chaperones for trips, we only have one regular adult volunteer and one occasional adult volunteer for Wednesday and Sunday night programming. That’s not enough. Its not enough as we hit a point where youth need to be split into High School and Middle School groups. And its certainly not enough when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that one of the most vital things in a youth’s development is having a couple of adults outside of their own parents whom they know love them and have their back no matter what. So, yes, we need our parents involved, but we also need non-parents involved because often a youth needs a trusted adult outside of the family to process certain things with.

Will you be praying alongside me for the right volunteers to come forward and talk with Sarah about getting involved? Will you be praying if you are one of those that God might be calling to step into this vital role in our church and in the lives of our youth?

Grace and Peace,

John

Thank you for your contributions to ACTS each month!  Our church committed many years ago to providing 450 units of each month’s desired items.  When we do not collect enough items each month we write a check to cover the missing items.  Unfortunately, this year we have only met our goal for one month out of the last five months.  

The ACTS Executive Director recently wrote us a letter outlining the support that Aiken’s First Baptist Church provided in 2022.  ACTS is grateful for our support.  Our support in 2002:  

• Six (6) volunteers from AFBC contributed a total of 376 hours to ACTS’ Programs and Services 
• Members participated in the ACTS Monthly Food Collection Program 
• Vacation Bible School youth volunteers participated in special projects during the year 
• Debbie Sessions and other members packed the food and hosted the monthly Oakwood-Windsor Food Distribution 

• Debbie Sessions served as the Member-at Large on the ACTS Board and chaired the Volunteer Committee 
• Financial Support totaled $8,696.50.

ACTS has served this community for 37 years.  Our partnership with ACTS helps them to continue to give hope to individuals and families in need in our community. 

Thank you, Aiken’s First Baptist Church! 

June 22, 2023

On Monday, June 26, our annual Vacation Bible School will begin. This year our theme is Stellar…..Shine Jesus’ Light! Children will have a blast shining Jesus’ light into the world. They will learn how we can shine His light during times when life is good and when things are difficult. Over 100 children will be here as we launch into an out-of-this world VBS experience. This is a wonderful opportunity for the children in our church and community to learn more about God’s love and His gift of salvation. 

Please be in prayer for each child and the many volunteers who will be in attendance. May God’s glory shine throughout the week.] 

Ellen Looper

Minister of Children

June 15, 2023

Search Committee Wrap up

In April of 2022 our congregation nominated 6 members to be a part of a committee to find our next Minister of Children and Families.  That committee first met in early May.  Andy Brown and I are the co-chairs and have been blessed to have Erin Joenk, Aaron Campbell, Lindsey McCullough, and Casey Carrol to round out an all-star team.  We were issued a job description from our personnel committee to review and worked over the summer to draft position announcements to post through CBF and Divinity school job boards.  Late summer and early fall proved to not be fruitful in any applicants submitting resumes.  We then decided to meet and come up with a plan to revise the job description to open the applicant pool to those that may not have a Masters of Divinity degree.  We revised the job description to include those with teaching experience and the desire to continue their education in some type of theology to include a masters or an advanced certification.  The co-chairs presented this plan to the personnel committee for approval of the new job description.   Therefore the position of minister or director of children and families was formed and approved. 

Fast forward to late winter and early spring our push to post on the job board for round two was initiated.  This would prove to be all about timing.  Over a forty-five-day period during February and March, we received seven (7) resumes and cover letters.  All applied had great qualifications and we again met as a committee in March to decide which to invite to a Zoom interview.    We decided to interview six (6) of the seven (7).  This process brought three (3) candidates that stood above all the others.  The search committee convened and debated which two (2) of the three (3) we should bring to town for an in-person interview.  After deliberating through meetings, phone calls, and texts it all became very clear.  There was only one to bring to interview in person and tour our wonderful town and church campus.  This happened on the weekend of June 2nd through 3rd.  The 3-hour dinner/interview seemed more like 15 minutes.  This further confirmed we had made the right choice. 

Our candidate exemplified all the qualities we felt our church deserved.  They demonstrated a passion unlike the others with a calm that would serve our congregation well.  Their description of curriculum, leadership style, and wisdom resonated well with all of us.  We, as a committee, will present more information next Wednesday, June 21st, at 6:30 pm and will be more than willing to answer any questions from the congregation.  We encourage that there be a great turnout as we would like everyone to be excited to meet our choice on Saturday, June 24th, in person from 10 am – 12 pm in the fellowship hall. We hope that the choice will be clear to our congregation as it was to us on Sunday, June 25 when our congregation votes to have our next minister join our church.

Josh Pniewski

June 8, 2023

You may notice a new face in the church office this summer. Lillian Land resigned as Administrative Assistant on Wednesday, May 31, and Toni Banks, who regularly serves as the assistant director of our preschool, is filling in during the summer while we search for our new Administrative Assistant. We wish Lillian well in all future endeavors and are grateful to Toni for filling in this summer.

We are, therefore, looking for a new Administrative Assistant. This position works 24 hours per week, Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Applicants for this position should be ready to help our ministries flourish by taking on clerical and support duties with proficiency and efficiency and should interact well with members of the congregation and outside guests.

Qualifications:

• Kindness and a willingness to listen, to learn, and be challenged.

• Proven experience as an administrative assistant or similar role is preferred.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Strong organizational and time-management skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office with an aptitude to learn new software and systems

If you know of anyone who might be a fit for this position, please encourage them to apply by sending their resume to fbc@fbcaiken.org.

Thank you,

Debra

June 1, 2023

Encourager Church Need & Opportunity 

As you may recall, on February 26 we entered into a covenant with Grace and Main Fellowship and Third Chance Ministries of Danville, VA in the role of Encourager Church.  The Missions Committee has communicated with Jessica Hearne as to their needs and the result is our first opportunity to put our prayers and support into action.  The ministry in Danville needs certain items to maintain their urban garden and to offer opportunity through their tool library for those they serve in the community seeking food & shelter.  If you have any of the following items in usable condition, please consider donating to this cause.  The items will be cleaned & re-furbished prior to transport to Danville.  This is a great opportunity to clear out that cluttered tool shed of duplicate tools in good shape but seldom used.  

Chainsaws—used but in operable condition  

Hand tools—loppers, pruners, trowels, small garden shovels, etc.  

You may drop-off hand tools in the mission cabinets located in the hallway across from the church office.  For chainsaw donations, please contact David McGuire in advance at (803) 221-2282.  

If you would like to provide support in another way, you may send cards of encouragement to:  

Grace & Main Fellowship 

Attention: Jessica Hearne 

228 Broad St 

Danville, VA 24541  

Sincerely,  

Mission Committee