Monday, February 22, 2010

Sunday Summary 2.21.10

Yesterday was a GREAT day at EBC! First off, the heat worked. We've had the coldest winter in years, and trouble with our heaters for nearly 8 weeks. I actually got hot and took my jacket off. From the spiritual perspective, our song lyrics were all taken straight from Scripture; Lisa knocked it out of the park with her special "Heal the Wounds, but Leave the Scar;" the altar response was strong, and God's Spirit was definitely moving.

Our crowd response was better than I've seen in a long time! Many came to pray during the altar call. One dear lady joined our church family. I know of 8 families ready to join EBC and will be offering a membership class in March. Last night, people were sharing testimonies of those who had been saved, giving testimonies as to why they love Jesus, and a family who is moving shared what EBC had meant in their lives.

I spent both services yesterday preaching from Matthew 24. We looked at signs of the times and how to do ministry in the last days. The world is changing and ministry must change. The challenges are mounting, people are being easily deceived pertaining to spiritual things, doctrine is being placed on the shelf, people are refusing to accept the absolutes of Scripture, tolerance is replacing holiness, and the Bride of Christ seems to have forgotten about preparations for the appearing of the Bridegroom. I felt God was leading me to preach a wakeup call to our local congregation yesterday, and I believe many got it!

Monday, February 15, 2010

3rd Grade Awakening

Today, during her Bible lesson, one of our ECS teachers was telling her third grade class about the prophecy emphasis at EBC yesterday. One student expressed his interest in knowing for sure that he would spend eternity in Heaven, then another, and then another. After the lesson was over, 14 of the 16 students in her class came up to her desk expressing their desire to make sure they had a right relationship with God. Twelve of the fourteen students accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, two rededicated their lives to Christ, and the other two were already confident of their salvation. PRAISE THE LORD!

This is a great reminder of "why" we have a Christian school. Our goal is to glorify God by providing students a Christ-centered, Bible-based education, by influencing them for salvation, by instructing them in values for Godly living, and by providing a program of academic and extra-curricular excellence.” Any school can make an academic impact, but Emmanuel CHRISTIAN School is making an eternal impact!

Sunday Summary 2.14.10 (Jimmy DeYoung)

Yesterday was "Prophecy Sunday" at Emmanuel with Dr. Jimmy DeYoung. Dr. DeYoung is a 70 year old prophecy teacher and journalist who travels the country and the world educating the Body of Christ of the future events foretold in God's prophetic Word. His goal is to equip Christians with the knowledge and understanding of what God's Word says will happen someday soon, so that they can make better decisions today.

Dr. DeYoung is seen on the Day of Discovery and the John Ankerberg television programs, heard on a radio broadcast consisting of over 1,500 stations, is a noted conference speaker, and is also an author. His best seller, "Ready to Rebuild," is a documentary on the building of the Third Temple. Jimmy continues to monitor the most current events as they unfold in the Middle East and compares these current events to the prophetic truth of God's Word.

The day was full of biblical exhortation, and even some strong opinions. He covered more information in a few hours than some prophecy conferences cover in days. He jokingly described his presentation as trying to get a drink from a fire hose. If you desire to know more about Dr. DeYoung and his ministry, please visit his website at www.jimmydeyoung.com.

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Sunday Summary 2.7.10 (Local Mission Fair)

Today was a very special day at Emmanuel Baptist Church as we hosted our first-ever, "Local Missions Fair." Since our 2010 theme is "Reach Your Street," we are doing all we can to help connect our church family with opportunities for service and evangelism across our community. Eight different local ministries were invited in to promote their ministry from the pulpit and also via display booths that were setup in our main lobby. At the end of the day, many of our folks had signed up as volunteers and people were connected with ministries for which they were wired.

The ministries we featured today were:
Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) of Coker College
Carolina Family Planning Centers (Pro-life, crisis pregnancy intervention)
Christmas in April (Repairing homes for the elderly)
Free Medical Clinics (Medical assistance)
Hartsville Interfaith Ministries (Benevolence assistance)
Hospice (Volunteer recruiting for Life Care Hospice)
Raceway Ministries (Ministry at the Darlington Speedway)
Recovery Ministries (Support for those overcoming addictions)

Monday, February 01, 2010

Crisis Pregnancy Fundraiser

This past Saturday was the Spaghetti Supper Fundraiser for the Carolina Family Planning Centers. We had a few bills due and God just keeps providing every step of the way. The Board chose to host this dinner only 2.5 weeks from the actual serving date. They pulled it off with the help of dozens of volunteers and many generous donations.

It was a good thing we pre-sold the tickets, as it was the worst weather day we have had this entire winter. Rain, sleet, and dropping temperatures were against us, but we still served approximately 700 plates and God provided the funds needed for our insurance, new signs, and several other items. This is definitely a non-profit ministry; but more importantly, a faith-based ministry!

Thank you to the cooks, servers, runners, donation solicitors, ticket sellers, etc. from various churches of various denominations across our community. I won't name names, because I will accidentally leave someone out. WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!

Sunday Summary 1.31.10

Not too much to report today, as our electricity was out all day Saturday and Progress Energy told us that it was projected to be restored by 6:00pm on Sunday night, Jan. 31. For this reason, we canceled our morning services since no electricity means no heat. Some churches canceled due to "loss of power." I pray that is never the situation at Emmanuel.

We did hold our first Leadership Summit on Sunday night for the sake of casting vision and training our church leadership. Everyone brought a pot of soup or chili - You know Baptists have to have food at any gathering! We had over 60 leaders show up for the training. My thanks to everyone who invests his/her life in leading others spiritually. This is going to be a quarterly event at EBC as we equip leaders to equip and lead others.