As the summer is winding down and school has begun it is a great time for families to get back into a routine. Summer breaks are great and it is wonderful to get away. Now is the time to bring your family back to church. I want to encourage you to get involved in Sunday School (9 am, there is a class for all ages), Morning Worship 10:30 am and a Small Group sometime throughout the week. There are many excellent choices you can make from Sunday evening through Saturday night. A Small group will help you to get to know others better in the church and being in the Word of god on a daily basis will help you to grow in your faith.
There are also opportunities to plug into our wonderful graded choir program with Adult Choir meeting at 4:30 PM on Sundays and The Swamp (for pre-schoolers through grade school) at 6:00 PM. On Wednesday nights at 6:30 PM we offer Mission Friends (for pre-schoolers), R.A.'s & G.A.'s (grades 1-6) and Overflow (for grades 7-12). AWANA for children 3 yrs through 6th grade is being offered as an outreach in Litchfield on Tuesday nights from 6:00 - 7:30 PM at Litchfield Center Elementary School.
What a great opportunity we have to serve God together at Friendship Baptist Church. It is indeed a blessing to serve as your pastor.
Transitions are a part of life that everyone experiences. Fall is a time where some of these transitions are painful but extremely necessary. When a child has their first day of school there are often both tears and excitement from both the children and the parents. It is a necessary passage of life. Later on when our children leave home for the first time, whether for college, the military or even a job in another city, it can be both a joyful and painful experience. I believe that parents have the responsibility of providing our children with both roots and wings. They need to have the foundation for life, knowing that they can always come home and then the support to go out on their own to wherever God is leading them.
The fall is also a transitional time for our church family. We transition into a full schedule of activities which includes our graded choir program on Sunday afternoons, children’s and youth meetings on Wednesday nights (Mission Friends, Royal Ambassadors, Girls in Action for children and Overflow for 7th-12th grade) and Small Groups for Adults. You can fill out a green sheet to sign up for Small Groups. Altogether we are offering at least 14 Small Group opportunities for adults besides our Sunday morning Bible Studies. I highly recommend that you join at least one Small Group. The way to grow in your faith includes studying and obeying God’s Word and being around a group of caring believers that will hold each other accountable. One other children’s outreach ministry that is beginning this fall is AWANA which will be on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 – 7:30 PM at the Litchfield Center School. Adam and Amy Sobek are heading up this ministry, please be in prayer that many children will come to Christ and grow in their faith.
We are also facing some transitions in our music and worship ministry. Mappe Matsudaira who has served faithfully as worship leader is going to only be leading on an occasional basis starting in September. For this reason we are trusting God to provide the right people to step up and help in this area of our church. There will be a meeting today, Sunday August 29th after the business meeting in the fellowship hall for all who are involved or would like to help in leading worship. A light lunch will be provided.
The last transition I’d like to address is in regard to our new church plant, Bethlehem Baptist Fellowship. In order for Pastor Duane Crossman to fully devote himself to starting this new church he is resigning as Associate Pastor of Friendship Baptist Church effective October 1, 2010. Our church will continue to fully support Pastor Duane through the end of this calendar year, with partial support continuing through 2011. We will be having a church wide pot-luck Sunday, October 3rd to thank Pastor Duane and Kathy for their many years of faithful service at Friendship. While God’s leading may place us in different locations we are still one in our purpose of reaching the world for Christ. Please pray for them and especially that God will use them to reach many in Bethlehem and beyond for Christ. Bethlehem Baptist Fellowship will begin Saturday night Worship services on September 25th.
One thing that never changes is God’s everlasting love for you and for me. I’m so glad that Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
The following is an article that has appeared in the Biblical Recorder, the state Baptist newspaper in North Carolina.
NC teams use drama and sports
to help Connecticut church reach out by Mike Creswell
LITCHFIELD, CT -- It's a Sunday morning at Friendship Baptist Church and some 200 members and visitors almost fill the sanctuary for a service of music, Bible reading, sermon and prayer.
After the service Pastor Don Satterwhite and his wife, Marie, greet members and guests as they leave; many members gather to chat under the bright red awning over the entrance.
By North Carolina Baptist standards this is a normal service -- strong music and a strong, Bible-based sermon.
But wait -- this is Connecticut. By local standards this is a mega-church; its mere presence in this far northern state, miraculous.
Sunday afternoon the congregation gathers alongside Lake Harwinton at Torrington for a worship service, cookout and a baptismal service in which Satterwhite baptizes four new adult believers in the lake.
Those baptisms -- lake or otherwise -- are even more unusual here.
"This is definitely a mission field," Satterwhite says later, meaning the state of Connecticut and the nearby towns of Litchfield and Torrington. The state has about 3.4 million people, Western Connecticut Baptist Association reports, and it's estimated that only 1 percent, around 26,000 adults, can be found in an evangelical Christian church on any given Sunday.
Satterwhite meets and prays with pastors of several other evangelical churches, Baptist and others, in the area. But it's a small number.
Friendship is one of just 37 Southern Baptist churches and missions in the state. In the state's five largest cities of Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, Stamford and Waterbury, there are only 14 Southern Baptist churches -- well under 1 percent of the population.
The Baptist Convention of New England is made up of just 270 churches sprinkled across Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. America's first Baptist church was founded in what is today Rhode Island in 1638, but Christianity has been weak here for years.
Southern Baptists started work here only in 1960 when Screven Memorial Baptist Church was constituted in Portsmouth, NH. BCNE leader Randy Sprinkle says the area is "cold, rocky soil" for the Gospel.
North Carolina Baptists have sent scores of volunteer teams to Vermont but this year expanded their partnership to include Massachusetts and Connecticut. The lostness statistics explain why New England Baptist leaders welcome the teams so warmly. Partnership Missions, which coordinates hundreds of such teams each year, is supported by North Carolina Baptists as they give through the Cooperative Program.
Satterwhite, a Florida native, served as pastor in South and North Carolina (First Baptist Church, Raeford) before leading churches in Pennsylvania and Maryland. He began at Friendship April 2009.
Friendship has already used volunteer teams from North and South Carolina to beef up the congregation's efforts to reach out to the communities of Litchfield and Torrington through sports, children's programs, outreach and other activities; the church sent some young people on overseas missions trips this year.
This summer two North Carolina Baptist teams have served at Friendship: First Baptist Church, Siler City, NC, sent a 10-member team to help put on an art camp for children; Lewisville Baptist Church, Lewisville, sent a four-man team to help with a basketball camp.
First Baptist Church (FBC), Siler City
Friendship's weeks-long advertising effort brought more than 30 kids to their creative arts camp in late July and almost all of them were unchurched. "We're trying to tell them about Jesus in a fun way, through art, drama and music," said Mrs. Amanda White, church secretary, as she checked in kids at the front door.
In the fellowship hall ladies from both Friendship and FBC helped boys and girls with basic drawing lessons amid much industrious scribbling.
Mrs. Ruth Andrew drew downright respectful looks and questions as she moved around the tables. Age 78, she was clearly a grandmother and got good behavior from the kids.
"I've only been outside North Carolina five times, including now," she said. Missions has been part of her life since she enrolled in Sunbeams as a child, but this was her first out-of-state missions trip. "I'm having a wonderful time," she declared.
Would she recommend a missions trip to other 78-year-olds? "Oh, definitely," she replied. Mrs. Andrew worked for months to make puppets and other supplies for the Litchfield trip.
In the sanctuary, FBC members Charis Capehart and Emmy Hunnicutt, high school students, represented the younger team members.
They had some kids standing in a circle as houses built on rock while other kids, built on sand, lay on the floor as a third group of kids were blowing hard -- the wind.
Emmy, a rising high school junior, read a Bible story while Charis acted out the story; then Charis led them in highly mobile songs. A rising high school senior, Charis, 17, has made other mission trips, including one to Maine, and was enjoying using her theater experience for missions.
FBC member Dave Pollok got his commercial driver's license so he could drive the church's 25-passenger bus which brought the team up.
"I felt God calling me to get a license and drive them," he said. Pollok is a retired EMT paramedic, another reason the team liked having him along.
Downstairs in the Sunday School section, FBC member Wade Holder was spackling walls for painting.
FBC team leader Mrs. Judy Morris was clearly happy with how smoothly the team was working, both with the kids and with Friendship members. "We all came because we love the Lord and we want to share," she said.
Lewisville Baptist Church (LBC), Lewisville, NC
At an outdoor basketball court in Torrington, CT, LBC member Donnie Lambert and three other team members were teaching basketball basics.
"When you pass, where do you want the ball to go?" he asks.
"You want it to go right at their belly button so they can take the ball and then do something with it," he explains in a loud but patient voice.
Lambert is joined by fellow LBC members Tim Carpenter, Jonathan Spease and Rodney Williams as the boys and girls are taught basic stretching and warming up, ball handling and shooting.
Williams, Spease and Carpenter work with the younger kids on how to dribble and how to arch the ball on its way to the basket.
The LBC team ran two camps and also made a visit to a newly-planted church to teach basketball and also teach Bible stories. Gentleness is evident as the volunteers work with the kids. Many of them wear the T-shirts the team brought with "God commanded 'light to shine out of darkness' 2 Corinthians 4:6" on the back.
Lambert also taught sports on an earlier trip to North Africa; Williams served in Pennsylvania last year.
Rob Morzella, Friendship youth pastor, said sports camps like this one are a big part of the church's effort to reach youth in the area. He loves the way the Lewisville team came with flexible attitudes, wanting to help Morzella and other Friendship members with their program, not impose an imported one.
Soccer, baseball and basketball camps have been well received by unchurched families. "The parents say their kids love the Bible stories and are loving the positive messages they bring home," Morzella said.
"We're reaching families that are not necessarily going to be walking through our doors on Sunday. They're seeing that we care for our community and that we're teaching good sportsmanship," he said.
Friendship still uses the Southern Baptist Royal Ambassador program for boys and the Girls in Action program for girls on Wednesday nights. "That's old hat down south, but up here it's still a new idea," Morzella said with a grin.
As the kids shoot one last basket before stopping for a water break, you can almost see the bridges being made, one kid at a time.
From our staff devotions today we were reminded to "rest in Him" by Oswald Chambers. I'd like to share the following blog article that was written by Kelly Minter, the daughter of a pastor friend of mine.
Today's post comes from Kelly Minter. Kelly is a musician and writer, most recently releasing Ruth: Loss, Life, & Legacy, a project made up of both a musical release and a Bible study.
A few mornings ago I opened my Bible to the story of the blind beggar in Luke 18:35-42, as part of my study through the gospels. I was perfectly prepared to skim through the end of the chapter, seeing as I had heard about Blind Bartimaeus since a small child perched nicely in my Sunday School chair. What I wasn't expecting to find was a surprising lesson on the heart of Christ versus religious mission.
As Jesus approached Jerusalem with a large crowd, a blind beggar cried out for help: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" What struck me next was a tiny phrase that's only included in Luke's Gospel: "Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet..." For the first time I noticed that the condemning voices had come from the leaders of the crowd (some translations say, "those in front"). They viewed the ailing man, with no sight and no coins in his pockets, as an embarrassing nuisance worthy only of their dismissal. After all, he was getting in the way of their "mission with Jesus."
Those who led the way. It's startling to think that the very ones in the front of this crowd, barreling toward Jericho like storm clouds rolling across the sky, felt perfectly justified in condemning the vulnerable and needy, all because they were on, what they thought was, a mission with Jesus.
I couldn't miss the correlation between this harried crowd and our often fast-paced, program-heavy Christian environments. How easy it is for us to get swept up in the rhythm of our productivity, marching to the beat of religious mission, while ironically forgetting that our call is about people! Our ministry busyness can often create the illusion that we are keeping in step with Jesus - even leading the way, much like those in the crowd. When in reality, Jesus may be asking us to stop. Perhaps for just the one.
As one who makes my living in what would be considered "full-time ministry," I find this passage especially challenging. Sadly, there have been many instances where I have practically tripped over the proverbial blind beggar because I had a certain mission to accomplish, a Bible study to prepare, a devotional to write. They are the good things that sometimes get in the way of Christ's heart for me to live out His compassion on, what appears to be, a smaller scale.
It is so easy - even as leaders - to miss the individual person for the corporate task at hand. Sermons and meetings and events sometimes overtake God's call for us to minister to an individual or a smaller group, sans the smoke and spotlight. He has put in our path people that may cause us to slow down, or even come to a dead stop as Jesus did (Luke 18:40). Yes, Jesus dealt corporately, but He also followed His Father's leading to stop and tend to the one. Even in the midst of a crowd that was more intent on its destination than on the heart and healing of a blind man.
A few years ago I began to feel dry in my faith, eventually realizing that I had allowed myself to be swept up in the harried - even missional - crowd, missing Christ's heart of compassion for the individual. I knew how to lead a worship service or package a message for a women's retreat, but I was losing my passion for these things because I was so caught up in my own Christian "success." I was missing the ministry for the business of the ministry. And it was then that I knew some things had to change.
I started pursuing what was right in front of me, as opposed to seeking a bigger "ministry." I pressed into my local church and community more intently. I taught the Bible to a small group of women who had just gotten out of prison, as I was desperate to see the gospel transform ravaged lives. I became more available for leisurely coffees with those who simply needed to talk. I threw more dinner parties so I could commune with the church and non-churched alike. I took a couple of international missions trips. And though this may sound like I simply added more to my "to-do" list, this has not been the case. I have simply been more mindful about what God is calling me to, not always saying "yes" to the bigger opportunity, not always keeping step with the crowd. Ultimately, I needed to remember why I was doing ministry in the first place, and tending to the one became not just a reminder, but the fuel for everything else.
Though Jesus never needed any reminder, I can't miss the irony of Him stopping to heal Blind Bartimaeus on the way to His crucifixion and resurrection (Luke 18:31-33), showing us that He never lost His heart for the one, even on the way to give His life for the many.
God is so good and continues to lead people to become a part of the fellowship at Friendship. Over the past two Sundays we have had six people come forward desiring membership. Last Sunday there were nine people in the "New Members Friendship 101". To me this is always very exciting. We need to work together as these precious newcomers in our family become a part of the fellowship. They need established members to come beside them and get to know them as well as draw them into places where they can grow and serve.
Two things that help people remain in a church are relationships and responsibilities. Relationships in the church best take place in Small Groups. It is for this reason that we are beginning to promote Small Groups and that we work hard to provide them. The new Small Group semester will begins just after labor day. The first Wednesday night groups will be September 12th. You can sign up for a group through the blue slip and soon we will have that available online. There will be special "Small Group Leaders Training" on Wednesday, August 25th at 6:30 PM. Anyone who is interested in helping to lead a Small Group needs to be at this training.
I'm excited about the days and weeks ahead and look forward to continuing to join God where He is at work. I hope you will come and join me.
Last night as I watched the workers at Vacation Bible School the love that they have for Christ was so evident. Just the fact that so many people would be willing to give up a week of their time to serve children and youth is a big thing. I know that sacrifices are being made for people to be here and believe me when I say THANK YOU. Without volunteers the work of the church would not happen. It is because people are giving of their time, talents and resources that we are able to continue sharing the love of Jesus Christ.
I got some great news from a church member just a little while ago and let's suffice it to say that God answers prayers. Isn't that a great thing to know. If you are facing what you think is an impossible situation just remember that we serve a God who specializes in doing the impossible.
Today we begin our second day of Creative Arts Camp and the first day of a three day basketball camp. I am so thankful for our partners from North Carolina and Scotland as well as our faithful members who are making these outreach efforts possible. Pray that lives will be touched and that children, youth and families will come to Christ. I want to also ask you to pray that the weather is clear on Thursday night as we take our Block Party to downtown Torrington and join the Main Street Marketplace, This begins at 5:00 PM and goes until 9:00 PM. We can begin setting up at 4:00. Volunteers are needed as we go and share with people some fun, about Jesus and of course promote VBS which begins next Monday night.
Worship on Wednesday this week at 6:30 PM will be an opportunity for you to meet and fellowship with our mission teams. Hope you can make it. We have much to give thanks for. This past Sunday night we were able to baptize four adults at Lake Harwinton and had a great time of fellowship. I'm thankful for all that God is doing at Friendship and encourage you to come join Him where He is working.
Yours for the Harvest,
Pastor Don
My family has had some opportunity to get together this summer while the weather is so nice. Marie and I have enjoyed so much the unseasonably warm New England summer and just happened to be out of town during the hottest week of the summer thus far. I was going to post a picture that we took at one of our favorite spots, Kent Falls State Park, but couldn't figure out how to make that happen. So much for my technical ability. Just believe me when I say that it is a beautiful spot and my wife takes a great picture.
I hope you are enjoying your summer and your family this summer. Our week out of town was spent with two of our children and two of our grandchildren in MIssouri. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to take this time and spend with our family. The grandchildren will never be two and almost four again and we had a wonderful time with them. I want to encourage you to take the time to see and spend time with your family. They grow up way too quickly and before you know it they could be grown and gone.
When you are home I hope you will make every effort to be present in the Worship Services at Friendship. God is working in lives and changing lives. This Sunday afternoon at Dorothy Wednt's house on Lake Harwinton we will be having a baptism at 5:00 PM. Bring a lawn chair and a side dish to share. We plan to grill out hot dogs so you can bring your favorite. Drinks, condiments and paper goods will be provided. There are at least three line up to be baptized and if you want to follow Jesus at this time too just bring a towel and a complete change of clothes. This will take the place of all regularly scheduled evening activities.
I also want to remind you that our Creative Arts Camp and basketball camps begin next week. There is still space available and you can sign up on the website.
I began reading a book this week that was loaned to me by one of our members. I am not a voracious reader, but I do enjoy reading and love to learn when I read. Often when reading theological books I'm reminded of truth that I learned long ago. In his book, "The Sovereignty of God" A.W. Pink states in the introduction this important truth, "Two things are beyond dispute, God is sovereign and man is responsible." It is because of the fact that "man is responsible" that we need to tell the good news of what Jesus Christ has done in our lives abd what He can do in other's lives as well.
We witness because we are suppossed to, we witness because we are commanded to, and we witness because we are allowed to. I love the way the Apostle Paul put it in I Thessalonians 2:4 "We are allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel and it is because of this we speak...not as pleasing men, but God who tries our hearts." The privilege of being a witness reminds me of an old hymn that I love so much, the last verse, I believe says "I love to tell the story for those who know it best, seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest, and when in scenes of glory I sing the new new song, twill be the old old story that I have loved so long. I love to tell the story, twill be my theme in glory, to tell the old old story of Jesus and His love."
This weekend we celebrate the holiday that should cause each of us to thank God for the freedoms that we enjoy. July 4th is the birthday of our nation. It is the greatest nation on earth and God has blessed us with right to choose where we live, what we do and when I where we choose to worship. Perhaps the greatest freedom of all is the right to assemble and express our faith in whatever way we choose best.
There was a high price paid for this freedom. The men who gathered in Philadelphia for the nations birth paid a high price indeed. They were honorable men hard-pressed by a king who had flouted the very laws they were willing to obey. To sign the Declaration Of Independence was such an irretrievable act that the walls resounded with the words, "treason, the gallows and the headman's axe". Legend says that at that point in time a man rose and spoke. He is described not as a young man, but one who had to summon all his energy for an impassioned plea. He cited the grieveances that had brought them to this momentand finally, his voice falling, he said, "They may turn every tree into a gallows, every hole into a grave, and yet the words of the parchment can never die. To the mechanic in the workshop, they speak hope; to the slave in the mines, freedom. Sign the parchment. Sign if the next momentthethe noose is around your neck, for that parchment will be the textbook of freedom, the Bible of the rights of man, forever." He fell back exhausted. The fifty-six delegates, swept up by his eloquence, rushed forward and signed that documentdestined to be as immortal as a work of man can be.
Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man was born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created by and managed by the people, with no powers of it's own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people. We sometimes forget that great truth, and we never should.
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY
We have had our first Worship on Wednesday and the college students from Texas did a great job sharing with everyone who was here. I think it especially good for our students to hear from others close to their age that are totally sold out for Christ. The four students are from all across Texas and had never met before this mission trip. This week they have been helping us prepare for and promote the first of our summer camps which starts next Monday. That reminds me that if you know of any children from K - 6th grade we would love to have them involved in the Sports Camp. They can sign up on the web site and then show up Monday morning at Wamogo.
You may be wondering if a Sports Camp is effective in reaching people for Christ. When I served as a pastor in Pennsylvania a lady called the church and asked about bringing her 11 year old twin boys to camp. After giving her all the details about camp she said, "what time are your church services?" The next Sunday she was in church and came to faith in Christ, all because of a Sports Camp. Paul the Apostle said we need to be "all things to all men so that we might gain some".
This coming Sunday I will continue the series in Joshua as we look at "Getting Ready for Battle' from the last part of Joshua chapter one. I hope you will make every effort to be present every Sunday that you are in town this Sunday. When you away don't forget to pray for your church family and financially support the ministry that carries on. Through online giving you can give anytime and from anywhere. Thanks so much for your faithfulness.
This next Wednesday night we will have twenty four guests from the Carolina's. I'm looking for as many of our people as possible to show up for the pot luck supper at 5:30 PM, let's show them that there is such a thing as hospitality up north and it is because we are willing to share with others in the body of Christ. After the pot luck supper the mission teams will be sharing during our WOW service.
Yours for Kingdom Growth,
Pastor Don
It might go down in history that June 15, 2010 was a watershed day in the life of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Great Commssion Resurgence Report was adopted by a two thirds majority after 90 minutes of debate. The debate was not over the Great Commission, but rather over the method of funding. The good news is that this year the focus has been on reaching out to a world that needs Jesus. As a result of this vote we should see more help coming to Connecticut both in resources that will include funding and mission teams. It just makes sense that those who are stronger will do all that they can to help those who are weaker.
I'm thankful to be a Southern Baptist and to serve one of the finest churches in the Baptist Convention of New England. This has been a good week and I'm leaving in a few minutes for the final day of the convention. I'm looking forward to being home, especially since Orlando has been in the high 90's both in temperature and humildity. I'm also excited about gathering with God's people at Friendship on Father's Day and sharing God's message that he has laid on my heart.
I love the summer and the opportunity to spend time outdoors but that doesn't negate the importance of being together as a church family. Here is my prayer for our church family this summer that every Sunday you are in town you make it a priority to join the fellowship of believers at Friendship. We will be a stronger church because you do.
Wow! This past Sunday was great with four baptisms, wonderful stories, teams sharing from Faith in Action and a great spirit in our church. Then to top it off the Swamp Production, "Knight Camp at Rock Kingdom" on Sunday night was wonderful. Special thanks to Becky Helterbran, Rachel Endersby and all of the rest of the volunteers. The kids did great and brought glory to God.
Tonight, Wednesday May 26th is the concert with UNSPOKEN. This band was here last year and was a great blessing. All age groups will be going into the sanctuary for this event, there will be Mission friends and care for those in the nursery. RA's & G.A.'s should go to the concert with their parents or their leaders. The concert begins at 7:00 PM and food will be available for sale in the fellowship hall starting at 6:00 PM.
This coming Sunday we will be remembering the Lord Jesus Christ's death as we celebrate the Lord's Supper. It is also the 5th Sunday which is Friendship Sunday and we are having a covered dish dinner after the morning service. Please bring enough for our family plus one to share. This will be a special time of fellowship with the family of God.
