416 Vine St Madison IN 47250 * (812) 265-2331 * allstaff@madisonfbc.org * madisonfbc.org * Facebook: First Baptist Church in Madison IN

Loving Our Guests Randy Crutchfield

First Baptist Church Newsletter | Summer 2021

Life Signs

Over the years I‘ve seen many first-time visitors or guests come to worship with us on Sunday

mornings. Some come and connect with us immediately and never miss a Sunday after. Others

come once or twice and we never see them again. Sometimes an individual or family will come and

linger after a service, meeting folks and asking about our ministries. Others quickly depart and do

not give attenders a chance to say hello.

Over the years we have tried various ways to help visitors feel welcome. In our fellowship some really

enjoy a “meet and greet” time scheduled into our order of worship. Others have complained that a

“meet and greet” time seems forced and say greetings should happen more organically before or

after worship. In other attempts to get to know guests, some churches take food to homes after a

first time visit. This makes some visitors feel noticed and loved, others feel like they are being

stalked. My head sometimes spins when I think about how difficult it is

to meet a person where they are at, making them feel comfortable and

at ease, because everyone is so different.

Here is one thing I am hoping for: I hope that as each of us comes to

worship and connect with God, we will also be looking to connect with

not only our old friends, but also with our potential new friends. I would

love it if each one of us would, at the end of the service, go meet

someone we don't know and introduce ourselves. If we start talking with

them we can quickly figure out if the person wants to get to know us or

not. If the guest is willing to talk, then it may be very appropriate to ask

them to eat lunch with you if you are going out to eat. The important

thing is that we feel an authentic love for our new folks and that that

feeling comes through when we chat with them.

Please make it a major priority in your times at church to get to know new faces and don’t be afraid

to welcome a new friend into your life! Your warm smile and greeting can be the beginning of

something wonderful.

This is love: not that we

loved God, but that he loved

us and sent his Son as an

atoning sacrifice for our

sins. Dear friends, since God

so loved us, we also ought to

love one another. No one

has ever seen God; but if we

love one another, God lives

in us and his love is made

complete in us.

(1 John 4:7-12)

What We’re Studying

Youth Gatherings & Events We’ve continued our Wednesday evening gatherings and

are holding several fun adventures together each month

including a Game Day, Kayaking Trip, and Go-Karting

adventure. Our upcoming events include a Mission Week

Celebration, Game Night, and a Bonfire.

Parents interested in letting their students participate in

our activities can find more details and sign up online at

madisonfbc.org.

FBC Youth Josh White

BACK TO THE FUTURE : A 4-Week Series On JUSTICE

SERIES OVERVIEW: Whether it’s to stop yourself from say-

ing something stupid, or see where you’ll be in 10 years, or

experience your favorite moment in history firsthand, we all

wish we had a time machine sometimes, right? While time

machines might not actually exist, the Bible can sometimes

feel a little bit like a time machine. It’s the story of the God

who exists outside of time and had a plan to save the world

before time even existed. God’s plan was fulfilled through

Jesus 2,000 years ago, but prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah,

and Amos left us hints about God’s plan hundreds of years

before that. So what was that plan? In this 4-week series,

we’ll discover that Jesus’ mission was to set people free

and rebuild what has been destroyed and we can join Him

on that mission, in part, by doing justice and remembering

all God has done.

FBC Kidz Kelly Rector

FBC Kidz is having a wonderful summer!

We kicked off our summer Kidz activities with a

Scavenger Hunt at Clifty Park. Other summer

activities have included Play Groups, Pool Days,

Community VBS and more.

In May, we finished our Creative Kidz Club season

by learning what the Bible says about money.

Children learned the importance of giving, saving

and spending their money wisely. Then, following

the ending of our season, families gathered

together for a Summer Kick-Off event at Eggleston

where we had 2 inflatables and a pitch-in

cookout. What a fun time we had!

FBC Kidz classes on Sunday morning have seen

some changes. In May, FBC Kidz was thrilled to

welcome back Ruth Curry as she began teaching

our Preschool Sunday School class for children

ages 2-5 (Preschool and Kindergarten) at 10am on

Sundays. We also welcomed back Preschoolers to

our Kidz Worship class after we had to temporarily

discontinue the class during our 11a worship

service. Preschool age children are now welcome to

join the older kids in Kidz Worship or to play in the

nursery during the 11a service.

We’re sad to lose one of our

teachers, Michele Hopper, but

we’re thrilled with what God

has in store for her family!

We’re also blessed that God

has provided for our Kidz

class with Nancy Totten as our

next teacher. Nancy used to

teach our Juniors Class

(grades 3-5) before COVID, so

we’re thrilled to have her back to teach our

Elementary Grades 1-5 Sunday School class.

Changes in Kidz Ministry:

We have been so blessed to have Michele

Hopper in our church family and serving in

Kidz ministry. She has volunteered for many

years teaching Sunday School, driving the

church bus to pick up kids in our community,

and volunteering at Creative Kidz Club and

summer activities, including Community VBS.

Michele's hus-

band, Michael,

has accepted a

position to pastor

a church near

North Vernon, IN.

So, July 4th was

Michele's last day

of teaching our

Elementary age

Sunday School

class.

We love and will miss you, Michele!

FBC Kidz continued Kelly Rector

Community VBS was such a blessing after a

year off due to the global pandemic. This

year 10 churches participated in Rocky

Railway, where kids learned to trust in

Jesus. At the end of the week, each child got

an Adventure Bible: Gospel of Mark to take

home. Please pray that God's Word gets into

the hearts of these families.

My favorite thing about VBS this year is

hearing from volunteers that kids came away

with a deeper understanding of who God

is. That is why we do what we do. We even

had 2 children want to be baptized, so we

contacted their home church so they could

follow up with them.

I praise God for the many volunteers who

gave of their time during VBS to minister to

the hearts of the kids in our community!

We held our “Rocky Railway” Community VBS on

June 14-17, at Madison Assembly of God Church.

Community Vacation Bible School

FBC Kidz continued Kelly Rector

Following Community VBS, FBC Kidz has been having fun

with Summer Fun activities, such as pool days at Crystal

Beach, blueberry picking at a local blueberry farm, and

more. We are also planning a trip to the Creation Museum

and the whole church is invited to join us! Visit our website

(madisonfbc.org) for more details.

Non-Fiction:

Into the Depths of God (Calvin Miller)

101 Simple Secrets to Keep Your Love Alive

The Language of Love (Gary Smalley & John Trent, Ph.D)

15 Minutes to Build a Stronger Marriage (Bobbie & Myron Yagel)

Making Love Last Forever (Gary Smalley)

Church Library New Arrivals

Fiction:

The Oracle, the Jubilean Mysteries Unveiled (Jonathan Cahn)

Where Shadows Meet (Colleen Coble)

Good Hope Road (Lisa Wingate)

Tending Roses (Lisa Wingate)

Our library is a couple of doors down from our office as you head toward the

Vine St doors. To check out a book, fill out the card in the back of the book and

place it in the box on the fiction shelf.

Free Books!

Our librarians have culled some older books from our

church library shelves. Stop by our church library and get

some free books on the table inside, or check out some books from our shelves!