Montgomery Christians Bring Dignity to Montgomery Residents

Because of your generous donations to our first annual Ministry Centers Toy Sale, almost 300 children were served through their parents shopping day this year. You made it happen! Toys, wrapping paper, volunteer hours and your financial gifts made it all possible. All in all, 31 SBC and 6 non-SBC churches participated through toy donations, volunteers, food and financial gifts. This does not include all the people around AL and the US that had been asked to pray for this day. We were thrilled at what happened and how so many people invested and prayed for this event.

There was such a sweet spirit on Saturday despite the rain and gloomy weather. Over 100 volunteers came with a cheery attitude ready to work! The mood was warm and loving that day. We all kept in mind 3 words...Love, Grace and Mercy-Love your neighbor, give grace to each other and show mercy as you help someone.

If you would like to see a glimpse of what happened, check out www.montgomeryadvertiser.com Click on “videos” under “multimedia” and click on “bringing dignity to Montgomery families. There are some photos available as well. There are photos also on the sidebar of this blog!


I’d like to share with you a few heartfelt experiences that happened this past weekend:


1. Susan (not real name)came with her head hung low because she was out of work. A volunteer found out about her situation and as they walked through the shopping area, she was able to minister to and encourage her. At the check out, another volunteer offered to pray for her. She challenged that young woman to truly believe what God could do for her in providing a job. The very next day Susan called me and told me her prayers had been answered. Through an unexpected contact, she was hired at a place that will not only pay the bills but also enhance her skills while she is being trained in a new career. She couldn’t believe that her prayers were answered so quickly. Susan was very grateful for the toy sale and the prayer support. Her life was changed that day.


2. Mary(not real name) was recently given custody of her 5 grandchildren. She also recently had a stroke and although recovered, she isn’t able to work anymore. She wasn’t sure how she was going to make it. A volunteer told her about the toy sale and she was able to get a friend to bring her. Shopping buddies helped her shop and just loved on her that day. She was prayed for in the café and told me as she was leaving that she felt encouraged…not just for that day, but also for doing what she has to do to take good care of her grandchildren.

Volunteers were touched as well. Several folks said that they had had a genuinely moving experience and hoped to be back next year. One woman confessed that at age 60+ this was her first time to volunteer. She was very moved and motivated to serve more after Saturday. Several families commented that their children were encouraged by their experiences to help others also. My hope is that families and individuals will continue this spirit all year round.

Please continue to remember outreach all year long in Montgomery through the ministry centers who organized this. The Montgomery Baptist Association directs two of those centers: Forest Park Ministry Center and Valley Park Center. Shepherds Staff and Community of Hope are our faithful partners. I hope that you will continue to support and pray for these centers as they work with many hurting families this next year. Montgomery needs you and your church to team up in responding to some very deep family needs.


Thank you and Happy New Year!
Lisa Rose, director, Church and Community Ministries, MBA

MBA Ministry Centers
Donna McCullough, Director, Forest Park Ministry Center, MBA
www.forestparkministry.blogspot.com
Leatha Sturgeon, director, Valley Park Ministry Center, MBA
www.valleyparkministry.blogspot.com


Our Partners
Lou Ann Raughton, Director, Community of Hope, Inc.
www.community-of-hope.org
Tracee Phaturos, Volunteers director, Shepherd's Staff
www.shepherdsstaffministries.org

Bringing Dignity to Montgomery Families in Need UPDATE!!!

Ministry Centers First Annual Toy Sale
Heritage Baptist Church
Saturday, December 12, 2009
We are embarking on a new endeavor in our ministry centers. Our first annual Ministry Center Toy Sale is scheduled for Saturday, December 12th. A minimal fee will be charged so that parents from our centers will have the dignity of buying their kids Christmas gifts. The prices will range from 10 cents to 5 dollars for the bigger items. Families who come to our centers will be invited to participate.

We need YOUR HELP in providing NEW for ages infant to 16 years. ALL MONIES RECEIVED FROM THE TOY SALE WILL GO BACK INTO THE MINISTRY CENTERS’ BENEVOLENCE FUNDS FOR FOOD AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE given to families served.


WAYS YOU CAN HELP THE TOY SALE!

1.Monetary donations will be accepted, as well as gifts. Make checks payable to: MBA Church and Community Ministries Toy Sale, 20 Interstate Park Drive, Montgomery, AL 36109.
2. We will need volunteers the day before the sale to help sort and organize toys.
3. Volunteers will be needed on Saturday to assist our guests as they shop.
4. Baked goods will be served at a “café” for parents who come and shop. Homemade goods would be greatly appreciated.
5. We need Christmas wrappers. If you are good at wrapping gifts, come and bring some Christmas wrap, bows and tape to wrap presents for parents.WE ARE FULL...thanks..this opportunity went really fast!
6. Be a “pray-er” or “sharer” at the Toy Sale with parents.

Call Lisa Rose for more details and a sheet of ideas of what kind of ttoys to buy for the sale at 334-271-6794 or email her at
lrose@mgmbaptist.org This is a joint effort of Forest Park Ministry Center, Valley Park Ministry Center, Community of Hope and Shepherd’s Staff Ministry
We will need to receive donations no later than Wednesday, December 9th.
Call for instructions on when they will be gathered.

November is National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption Month

A Place Called Home Ministries would like take a minute and remind you of the needs of America’s orphans, especially those that are in the Foster Care System. According to the U.S. Administration for Children and Families there are approximately 496,000 children are in foster care in the United States. Of these children about 130,000 are available for adoption today.

November is set aside to remember the needs of these special children and their families. There are several ways that your congregation can help the plight of these children:

1) Support and encourage foster and adoptive parents in you congregation. There is such a huge need for more Christian parents to help break the cycle of discouragement and neglect that these kids suffer. Additionally the cost of adopting a child from foster care is minimal in comparison with a private or oversees adoption. Many churches are starting orphan ministries within their churches in order to promote the needs of these families.

2) Support current foster and adoptive families in your communities through Angel trees, gift card donations, tutoring, and most importantly prayer.

3) Support homeland orphan ministries that are working to change the circumstances of many of these children.

A Place Called Home (www.apchm.org) would love to help you reach out to America’s orphans. For more information please contact Steve Whyte at (334) 414-9345 or at sawhyte@apchm.org.

It is ALL About Relationships!!

What Do You Think?

Bringing Dignity to Montgomery Families in Need

Ministry Centers First Annual Toy Sale
Saturday, December 12, 2009
We are embarking on a new endeavor at the Ministry Centers. Our first annual Toy Sale is scheduled for Saturday, December 12th. A minimal fee will be charged so that parents from our centers will have the dignity of buying their kids Christmas gifts. The prices will range from 10 cents to 5 dollars for the bigger items.

We need YOUR HELP in providing NEW and USED toys IN VERY GOOD CONDITION for ages infant to 16 years. ALL MONIES RECEIVED FROM THE TOY SALE WILL GO BACK INTO THE MINISTRY CENTERS’ BENEVOLENCE FUNDS FOR FOOD AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE given to families served.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP AT THE TOY SALE!

1. Monetary donations will be accepted, as well as gifts. Make checks payable to MBA Church and Community Ministries, Inc./ Toy Sale/20 Interstate Park Drive, Montgomery, AL 36109.

2. We will need volunteers the day before the sale to help sort and organize toys.

3. Volunteers will be needed on Saturday to assist our guests as they shop.

4. Baked goods will be served at the sale for parents who come and shop. Homemade goods would be greatly appreciated.

5. We need Christmas wrappers. If you are good at wrapping gifts, come and bring some Christmas wrap, bows and tape and wrap presents for parents.

6. Come and be a "pray-er" or a "share-er" with the parents.

Call Lisa Rose for more details at:334-271-6794
or email lrose@mgmbaptist.org

This is a joint effort of Forest Park Ministry, Valley Park Ministry, Community of Hope and Shepherd's Staff Ministry.
We can receive donations starting ASAP!

Seeing Community Transformation in Montgomery

From Pastor Alan Cross' blog(Gateway Baptist Church)......... Getting To See Community Transformation I got a call last night from the president of the Brighton Homeowner's Association, the neighborhood of over 800 homes right behind our church. She asked me to come speak at their night out against crime event tonight. She told me that since we got involved in their neighborhood last year, crime has gone down and the neighbors are very happy. She said that she was speaking with a young man who was considering joining a gang last year. He said that after he started coming to the church and playing basketball and being around positive people, he didn't want to do that anymore. He wanted to join the military now and make something out of his life. I don't even know who the boy is. We might never know. He might just be one of the guys that comes and plays and prays with us when we get a chance. We have no idea what God is doing in answer to prayer and with just a little sacrifice on our part. Several guys have gotten saved and others are growing in the Lord. I talked with one on Sunday who had been away for a few weeks. He said he had to get back to church and that he missed me. He said he missed all of us. I told him that I missed him too. Last week, two guys that we have been ministering to and that have come to Christ were leaving town for a couple of months. I didn't realize that they were going to be gone that long. We had been playing basketball and there were a lot of people around, but I told them that I was going to miss them. They said that they were going to miss us too. I then told them that we loved them and that if they needed anything while they were gone to let us know. They said that they loved us too. We then prayed with one another before they left. Each Monday and Thursday night, about 60-70 guys show up to play basketball. These are mostly all black teenagers. Many of them come from difficult backgrounds. Last week, when we went to pray before the games, there was a real since of sincerity about it. They keep coming back again and again. Something is changing. I got a call a few weeks ago from a guy who needed help. We helped him. We are still helping him and I have been bringing him to church each week. God is working in his life little by little. This afternoon, I got a call from a lady who was passing through town. The brakes went out on their car and they need brake pads. It costs $15. I'm leaving the church to bring her the brake pads that I'm about to go buy from Carquest. She called some other churches, even one who had a community ministry center, and they said they couldn't help her. How do you tell someone who needs $15 brake pads to get home that you can't help them? I am not trying to say, "Look at what we are doing." Not at all. I am just trying to say that seeing people's lives change and ministering to people is no great mystery. You just do it. The hard part is in the deciding that you aren't going to go do something else instead of help someone. That's where surrender comes in and where we have to lay down our lives. That is where we believe Christ. It seems that God presents us with a lot of opportunities to trust Him and serve others. We are often too busy or distracted to notice, however. Maybe that is why we aren't impacting our communities. www.downshoredrift.com

Come and Look for New Ideas for Ministry in Your Neighborhood!

Ministry Center TourDate:

September 2-4, 2009

The tour will begin Wednesday morning from the La Quinta Inn in Riverchase and conclude Friday afternoon. Each person is responsible for making their hotel reservations and purchasing their meals.

The cost for the charter bus is $60 per person.

Reserve your place on the bus by calling Keith at the number below.

We will be touring:• Birmingham/Jefferson Co. Ministries• Etowah Baptist Ministries• Shelby Baptist Ministries

La Quinta Inn and Suites120 Riverchase Parkway E.Birmingham, AL 35244205-403-0096

The room rate is $79 per day for a standard room (two doubles) if you book before July 17th.

Contact person: Keith Brown

205-669-7858

keith@shelbybaptist.org

INVITE THE UNINVITED!

Mac Crum, pastor of Hope Community, and other church leaders were interviewed in the Montgomery Advertiser because they have a heart for reaching hurting people, particularly the prostitutes in Montgomery.

To view the contents on www.montgomeryadvertiser.com, go to: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200906070400/NEWS01/906070333

Jesus said: " The next time you put on a dinner, don't just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You'll be-and experience-a blessing. They wont be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned-oh, how it will be returned!-at the resurrection of God's people Luke 14:14

TRANSFORMING YOUR COMMUNITY FOR CHRIST

Saturday, July 11, 2009 9-3pm McGehee Road Baptist Church 2877 McGehee Road COST $10 per person....lunch will be provided.

We will need your RSVP no later than July 7th in order to have a lunch for you reserved.

SPEAKER Barbara Oden, long time Baptist missionary in the Church and Community Ministries world, will be speaking about ways you and your church can transform your community. Her expertise is in Multi-Housing Ministries. She has served in TX most of her tenure but has served in other urban areas as well. She will be sharing ways to reach apartment complexes, public housing, mobile home parks, etc. as well as ways you can reach your neighborhood for Christ.

Confirm reservations by July 7th to 334-271-6794 or lrose@mgmbaptist.org

Checks payable to: Montgomery Baptist Association CCM, Inc.

20 Interstate Park Drive

Montgomery, AL 36109 SPONSORED by:Montgomery Baptist Association Church

Community Ministries

AND

Montgomery Area Church and Community Ministers Group

Hear No Evil...See No Evil.....Speak no solution??

This was from a post on a blog of one of our pastors. I think as we break for summer, we need to realize that there is much to be done in our city.....are we willing to take it on? Or are we going to ignore it? "Praise God that several churches are addressing this in Montgomery through prayer and action, including a stop the violence campaign and 24/7 prayer. But, so much more is needed. 65% of the 30,000 children in Montgomery's public schools live below the poverty line. That's 19,500 children! Is this not a mission field and a place to live out the implications of the gospel? If we can't do it in our own cities, then why should anyone believe us when we say that Jesus is the answer? If we can do it in our own cities, imagine what the impact would be! What stops us but ourselves?" "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did NOT do for the least of these, you did not do it for me...." Matthew 25:45

Association Missions Emphasis Week

Montgomery Baptist Association Emphasis Week

May 17-23, 2009 Be sure and order prayer guides from Joan at MBA......

334-271-6227

or jhedden@mgmbaptist.org

Take My Life and Let It Be

Fran­ces R. Ha­ver­gal, Feb­ru­a­ry 1874.

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee. Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.

Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose. Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

God of this City-Montgomery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61LamkXfwk

"Pray for the city....." Jeremiah 29:7

If you are on Facebook, check out the Montgomery Prayer Network page!

Celebrate God's Love This Resurection Day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLE8EY0gMX4

ESL Training at Monrningview Baptist

From Jonathan Oue @Morningview Baptist Thought you guys might be interested in this ESL training we are offering at Morningview Baptist Church. If you are interested please call the church office to sign up at 272-2304. Space is limited so if you want to sign up for it, please do so as soon as possible. When you sign up please be sure to let Sarah Jones in the church office know what church you are with. Thanks. We have mentioned this several times previously but I finally have the details of the ESL class to share with you. Please review the information below and sign up with Sarah Jones in the church office. Your payment for the class will be your registration.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Schedule

Thursday (4/23) -- 5:30-9:30PM (feel free to bring your own dinner)

Friday (4/24) -- 5:30-9:30PM (feel free to bring your own dinner)

Saturday (4/25) -- 8:00AM-5:00PM Cost (includes 1 textbook):

Individual: $40

Couples (sharing a textbook): $50

Helping Others

"A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor". Proverbs 22:9

*********

In this day and time, we all need to be extra generous in giving food and other items to help those who are hurting.

The Future Story-Guideline #3 Significant Change Must Begin With A Change of Heart

Any change that does not grow out of a Christ-transformed heart will be short lived and ineffective. Churches will be revitalized when believers rediscover their calling to live as missionaries and begin to live out the exercising of their spiritual gifts, leading their churches in discovering church vision and fiftedness for meaningful ministry. A Christian couple in the old Ridgecrest neighborhood host a backyard Bible Club EVERY summer. They see that if they are to live out their faith, they must be a "continuous" witness in their own backyard. They shared with me that they had a conversation with God once and asked Him how they could help people's hearts be changed. They said He told them to look around their own neighborhood and see where they could share Jesus with others. They began to reach out and now have a connection with their neighbors. They are now older and pretty limited physically, but still pray a lot for the neighborhood and host BYBC's every summer. They may never know on this earth what that heart changing moment did for the kids in the neighborhood but they are continually willing to listen and obey. "The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood" John 1:14 The Message

The Future Story Guideline #2

THE CHURCH IS GROUND ZERO FOR KINGDOM ACTIVITY

Associational structures and organizations are merely "a means to ASSIST churches"in fulfilling their God given vision of Kingdom work. All meaningful Kingdom work must begin and end in the local church, must be owned and managed by the local church and must be developed in the local church.

MBA Women on Mission Annual meeting gathered as local churches to provide homeless men and women with food and toiletry bags.

The Future Story of Montgomery Baptist Association

Guiding Principle #1

THE GOSPEL IS FOR PEOPLE EVERYWHERE

Every person, regardless of race, class, education or social status deserves to hear the gospel in a context understandable to them, with an opportunity to respond to the grace of God expressed in Jesus Christ.

Our cultural constructs often hinder our ability to share the gospel with people who are different. We often seek to convert them to our culture (e.g. middle class family values) instead of to Christ where they can be uniquely who God created them to be.

To discover hindrances to our effectiveness in sharing Christ, we must first prayerfully look inward in serious self-examination, reflection, and repentance.

ISSUES AFFECTING MONTGOMEY AND SURROUNDING AREAS Crime Poverty Race Schools Misused affluence and consumer mentality religion

MBA adopted these guiding thoughts for all that we do as churches in Montgomery at the October 2008 annual meeting.

As we begin 2009, we as churches are committing to being intentional about helping Christians live out the Biblical Mandate in scripture to share the good news in tangible ways as well as through our words. If you would like to brainstorm about ways your church can reach your community, contact Lisa Rose at 334-271-6794 OR email: lrose@mgmbaptist.org

Happy New Year 2009

II Corinthans 9:8

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work".

May 2009 bring even more generosity and love to the people of our city through churches and individuals commiting to interntionally share Christ in whatever ways it takes to bring others to Him.

Peace along the way,

Lisa Rose,

director Church and Community Ministries