Ministry Partner of the Month - December 2014

Prayer Requests:

1. Frontier Camp’s 10th trip to Limbe, Haiti to work with our camp plant, Jacob’s Well. Our trip with 20 of our summer staffers will take place January 5-12, 2015

2. Camper recruiting for summer 2015…that God would give us a full harvest field

3. Camper hearts for this summer’s spiritual program…that there would be good soil in their lives

4. All our summer 2014 campers that they would remember the spiritual lessons from last summer and pursue a daily relationship with God

5. For our first ever Father/Son “Passage” weekend coming up this spring; this is for dads and their teenage sons as they walk them through a passage into manhood

6. The completion of Fossil Creek’s Quarry Lodge building

7. Year-end giving to be healthy and all the financial needs of the camp ministry to be met

8. Staff recruiting, screening and hiring for summer 2015 to go well and give us a godly, servant team for the 2015 campers

9. Adoption process—our family is 2 years deep into trying to adopt a brother and sister from Haiti (Peirrot and Dashka). Haiti changed all their adoption rules delaying the process. All our paperwork is complete and in the hands of the Haitian Adoption Agency (IBESR) but it is in danger of “expiring.” The word Haiti means “mountain” so join us in praying for God to move a mountain in Haiti and bring our children home.

10. Home schooling for Emma and Will to continue to go well

11. Will and I are involved in the local boy scout troop; pray for our ministry with the boys and families

12. We’ve recently joined a new church, Lake Baptist. One of our staff members (Stuart Sanders) has just become the pastor there. Pray for revitalized ministry to the lake community, Stuart to balance family, camp and church, and our family to plug in with our gifts and make the adjustment from a mid-sized to very small church body.

13. Our new Food Service Director to settle into his new home here at camp and the new role of serving 6,000 guests annually. Our former FSD recently left after 8 years…on our staff of 14 we have basically no turnover with some folks serving here over 35 years. So it is an adjustment!

14. A praise in that Fossil Creek camp for teens opened this past summer and we saw a 20% increase in our teen camper population with lots of spiritual growth amongst them.

15. A praise for the 130 new believers that trusted Christ during our summer camps in 2014

16. For our 12th annual Angel Tree Week of camp for children of prisoners that will take place July 26-30, 2015. Pray that the cycle of prison will be broken in this generation of campers and that they won’t repeat the sins of their fathers.

He is Greater

Churches across the county will once again be collaborating together in the “He is Greater...” campaign. Last year about 35 churches presented the same theme and series using the same Christmas texts. This year the focus is on “Who is HE?” The series will focus on the angelic names given to the baby that we celebrate at Christmas. The four advent Sundays leading up to our Christmas Eve service will be: He is Savior.... He is Christ .... He is Lord .... He is Jesus!

There is a website available at heisgreater.com that will list the churches participating in the collaborative series, resources available for family worship throughout advent, community outreaches and opportunities as well as resources for community group leaders. New “He is Greater” t-shirts will be available for this year in a holiday red at WBC in the month of November. The plan is to wear the shirts across the community starting Novemmber 28th - “Black Friday!” Last year more than 10,000 t-shirts with the logo were distributed across the 35 churches. As people wore the shirts, people asked questions and conversations were started. I walked into JCPenney’s close to Christmas wearing my “He is Greater..” t-shirt, and the saleswoman asked me, “I’ve seen those shirts around for weeks, what is all this about?” It was a great opportunity to share the true story of Christmas and its meaning. There will also be yard signs available that we would love to see covering our entire community.

This series allows us as churches across the county to stand shoulder to shoulder in collectively declaring at Christmas that Jesus is greater! Be a part of the Community-wide declaration!

Carry Christ's Love

How are you “Carrying the love of Jesus” locally and globally? We would love to hear about it! E-mail us at icarry@waxahachiebible.org.

Interested in getting involved in a community group at WBC or local “Carry” opportunities? E-mail us at icarry@waxahachiebible.org.

At WBC, we just spent a couple of weeks embracing a mini-series where we focused in on a compelling component of our mission. As we worship our Lord and become mature disciples, we are reminded to also “Carry the Love of Jesus” in our community and around the world. Excitement filled the room as the church talked about one of the points of our mission for two weeks in a row! This two week series did great things for reminding us about the “C” component of WBC.

Our Powerful God lives inside of us, church! As we connect deeply with what it means to “carry the love of Jesus,” we hope everyone can discover practical ways we can believe it, know it, discover it and actually carry it locally and globally. What is the “it?” It is - The Love of Jesus Christ.

During the two weeks, we spent time discovering and acting on where we can engage at WBC, locally and globally to “Carry the Love of Christ.” On Sunday, October 26th, missionaries Mike Cloud and Immanuel Christian shared in both morning services to help us remember to Carry the Love of Jesus globally. Several missionaries were also on hand to share in the Sunday morning community classes to encourage all of us to remember and to show us how to carry the love of Christ around the world.

Be reminded of this compelling part of our mission:
CARRY CHRIST’S LOVE TO THE WORLD. Any journey with God must involve reaching outside of our church to be a part of God’s mission in the world. We hope that you will be a part of shining God’s light in the darkest corners of our community and world - Locally & Globally.

The Vision for This
• We envision meeting the needs of Ellis County in tangible ways that live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. We envision sharing the gospel with thousands of people in the Ellis County area. (Isaiah 55:11; Acts 2:43-47; Luke 6:27-36; Romans 5:15; II Corinthians 4:15, Phil 2:14-16; I Thess. 1:8)

• We envision our church as a place where the salvation of souls is the norm, not the exception. (Luke 15:4-6; Luke 19:10; John 14:6; Colossians 1:4-6; I Timothy 4:10; I Thess. 1:5-6; 2 Peter 3:9)

• We envision welcoming people into our body who are seeking to grow together in love and experience healing in their lives, families, relationships, and marriages. (Luke 9:48, Acts 28:30; Luke 14:21-23; I Cor. 13:1-3; I John 4:7-10)

• We envision recruiting, training, and sending out all of our people as missionaries, church planters, and church workers all over the world.We also envision all of our people pursuing short-term mission’s service in various countries. (Psalm 22:27; Isaiah 49:6; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Matthew 7:13-14, Acts 13:2-3; Romans 10:14-15, I Corinthians 3:5-11)

• We envision planting churches in Ellis County, America or abroad as God leads and provides. We also seek to fully develop the leadership for these church plants. (Acts 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1-10)

• We envision a facility that will accommodate our growth and be accessible to all of Ellis County. Thus, we desire to grow as God prospers us and uses us to reach a lost and dying world. (Acts 2:43-47; Mark 4:1-9)

Local Carry Opportunities
- Daniels Den
- Hallelujah party
- Women’s Christmas dinner
- Bread of life
- Prison Ministry
- Camp Fire Creek Therapeutic Riding Center
- Common Ground
- Connections ministry
- Drug Prevention Resources
- Firstlook
- Mission 75165
- Gabriel’s Project
- Habitat for Humanity
- Little Ray of Sunshine
- Impact
- Meals on Wheels
- Mercy Heart
- Mobile Manna
- Salvation Army
- Soul’s Harbor
- Waxahachie Care
- First Christian School

Global Carry Opportunities
- OCC
- Short term missions
- Echo Ranch
- Honduras
- Arizona

How are you “Carrying the Love of Jesus” locally and globally? We would love to hear about it! Interested in getting involved in a community group at WBC or local “Carry” opportunities? Email us:  icarry@waxahachiebible.org

Ministry Partner of the Month - Ken & Gwen Baker

October 15 through next April, we will be teaching advanced missions courses at the Institut Missiologique du Sahel (IMS) to French-speaking African mission leaders and mobilizers in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The IMS is in a small village 25 kms outside the capital city.

1. Pray for our health to be strong and resilient.

2. Pray that we will develop effective, contextualized courses.

3. Praise that we have the privilege to mentor these men and women!

4. Pray for wisdom as we seek to discern areas of growth needed.

5. Pray for us to persevere well in the heat without A/C!

6. Pray that we will develop good relationships with the students and staff.

7. Pray that our computers will work with limited solar electricity.

8. Pray for periodic communication with family back home (we will not have local internet).

9. Pray for wisdom in our teaching.

10. Pray for our French ability, we haven’t taught in French for a few years.

11. Pray for spiritual strength and vitality!

12. Pray specifically for Gwen’s English as a Foreign Language courses.

13. Pray for West Africa during the Ebola crisis, that God would stop the plague.

14. Pray for the IMS students as they study and prepare for mission engagement.

15. Pray for administrative capacity as Ken is interim director of the IMS program.

16. Pray for us as we deeply miss our children and grandson!!

17. Pray for us and IMS in the face of constant spiritual battle.

Unexpected Blessings:

Women's Fall Brunch & Tea

If you attended the Women’s Ministry Fall Brunch, you most certainly encountered beautifully decorated tables with teapots of flowers and lacy cookies. It was a delightful morning that included a delicious breakfast brunch provided by our own church members and followed by a time of special music that set the tone for our three testimonies. Our theme was “Unexpected Blessings” that come through times of trials, fear, growth, or hardship. Just as tea grounds steeping in hot water produce a strong flavor, so too, believers can grow stronger in times like these. And if we look for them, there are unexpected blessings that appear during these times.

In keeping with our new logo, “Becoming,” we asked representatives of three age groups to speak about how God had affected their lives and brought them through times of trials. Tiffany Neal, Ami Trull, and Maxey Sumlin spoke with uplifting words that will provide encouragement to each of us in our daily walk.

We presented a new name and logo at the brunch, based on the following verses:

“He must become greater; I must become less.” - John 3:30 (NIV)

“ . . . speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” - Eph 4:15 (NIV)

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” - 2 Peter 3:18 (NET)

The name, logo, and scripture give the idea of growth and progression as believers in Jesus Christ at every stage of our Christian walk. There are small green leaves in the logo to represent our growth in becoming more like Christ and the candle logo of WBC reminds us that our flame needs to become brighter individually and as the body of Christ. We need to be growing in our worship of our Savior, becoming more mature disciples, and in that growth we hope to become better witnesses of the message and love of Christ in our homes and every sphere of our influence.

We expressed our desire to be more intentional in reaching the younger generation in all that we do in women’s ministry. We enjoyed having young teen girls, younger women in their twenties and thirties, and every age beyond that in fellowship with us at the brunch. Thank you for coming!

The brunch was to kick-off all the women ministries at Waxahachie Bible Church for this school year. At WBC we have diverse ways to serve and be served. Our hope and prayer is that women will develop deep relationships with Jesus and others in the community through Women’s Ministries at WBC. Here are some ways to accomplish it:

- Dive deeper into God’s Word through small groups and Bible studies.
- Journey with other women through relevant mentor and support groups.
- Gather with other women of all ages at our special events and retreats for teaching, worship and connecting with other women.
- Serve globally by your support of our missionaries.
- Visit our website for links to discover all that is available through our Women’s Ministries
at waxahachiebible.org.

Will you join us this year in women’s ministry in BECOMING more like Jesus? Girl to girl, woman to woman, we can have a positive influence on each other as we connect and grow together.

WBC Ministers to Those in Prison

by Phil Blevins

For the past several months, a team of volunteers from WBC has been going into the Estes Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Venus, Texas. The team is responsible for conducting a worship service on the last Saturday evening in months where there are five Saturdays on the calendar.

The last service was held on August 30th. Approximately 30 volunteers, following Jesus’ call to “go unto the least of these,” ministered to over 100 inmates out of the 1036 prisoners currently incarcerated at the Estes unit. The service started at 7:00pm with a worship team leading praise and worship singing followed by 2 people sharing their testimonies of a recent mission trip to Colombia. Bill Cox brought the message and the service concluded at about 8:45.

In addition to sharing in worship, the volunteers are allowed to interact with the inmates for brief times of fellowship and prayer. The men are challenged to accept Christ and live according to the Scriptures. Believing inmates are encouraged to be good examples in the general prison population, lift up one another in the Lord and share their faith with others. This was the third time in 2014 that a WBC team has performed this ministry, and the next opportunity will be November 30th.

There are many other ministry opportunities available to individuals who are interested and go through the required training. Contact the church or Jerry Weiler for more information.

The Sanders Estes Unit of TDC is a male minimum-security facility managed by MAC for TDCJ. Many of the men there are preparing to transition back into life after prison.

Ministry Partner of the Month - Charles & Bridget Ulibarri

Prayer Requests:

• We are hoping to be traveling in October to do some short term ministry and explore some overseas fields. Pray we will have travel mercies and be a blessing wherever we go.

• Pray for God’s clear direction and timing for the overseas field and team that we will  serve on starting next year. We have had many mission ministry opportunities that have come up, and we need clear direction.

• Pray for our finances. We had some unexpected medical expenses last year that has put us in a bind. We need more individuals and churches to partner with us in monthly support as well as funds for ministry trips and future overseas ministry setup expenses.

• Pray for Charles as he completes his online Bible school studies, that we would have the finances for him to complete them, and that he would do well: expected graduation in 2015.

• Pray for our daughter, Brianna, for her to do well in her university studies and also for her walk with the Lord.

• Pray for our son, Micah, that he would have wisdom and discernment with his job situation. Also pray for his walk with the Lord.

• Pray that we all stay healthy.

• Pray for Bridget and Charles to be good witnesses in their neighborhood and to make disciples where they are.

• Continue to pray for the Fang people of Equatorial Guinea that they would read the Fang New testament now available in their language and come to know Christ. Pray also for people in West Africa suffering Ebola.

• Pray for our mothers’ health. Both are in their mid-70’s now, and we can see them deteriorating. Pray for Bridget’s mom that she knows the truth.

• Pray for our brothers and sisters and their spouses to know the Lord and walk in Him.

• Pray that we will continue to do our ministries to glorify God in all we do.