Welcome Pastor Chad and Natalie

I would like to welcome pastor Chad and Natalie Winder to our church and community!  Yesterday our church overwhelmingly voted to call Chad to serve as our pastor of worship and small groups.

I am so excited about what I believe the Lord is going to do in and through our church in the years to come.  And I am thankful that He has called this family to help lead us to that place of fruitful ministry.

The Winders will be on the ground before the end August.  Pray for them as they search for a place to buy or rent.  Pray for them as they make the difficult transition from somewhere they have been serving for a number of years.  Pray for their children as they seek to get used to unfamiliar surroundings.

I want to say thank you to a number of people who made this happen.  First, of course, to the Lord for His leadership and guidance.  I believe He has led us step-by-step through this whole process.  Secondly, our worship pastor search team.  The team has done everything that was asked of them.  Our church is deeply indebted to them and their prayerful work.  Thank you to Ron Baughman, who has been leading our worship ministry for the past couple of years.  Ron has done a stellar job under sometimes difficult circumstances.  Ron has shown wisdom, leadership, faithfulness, and spiritual maturity in more ways than most of the church is aware.

Fourth, thank you to First Baptist Church.  There are few ministry positions as difficult to fill as that of worship pastor.  Music is such an emotional subject, and we all have our preferences.  We prayed to the Lord for unity, and we asked the church to come together in this search for God's man for this hour, and the church has done so in historic fashion.  I can't say I wasn't nervous at times through the process, but to stand in one of the offices and watch the ballots as they were counted and to see the overwhelmingly positive vote (99.1% with the official ballots, 99.2% if you include the unofficial absentee ballots) made me so thankful to be a part of the faith family of First Baptist Church of Heath.

If you would like to send a note of encouragement to pastor Chad, he can be contacted at PastorChad@fbcho.com.

Pastor Noel

Some Of The Reasons I'm Excited About Today

Here are some of the reasons I am excited about today...

***Worship this morning. We get to exalt our Lord.

***We will hear a testimony this morning of a family in our church who chose the path of faithfulness and discovered the blessings of the Lord.

***New message series starts today: How Smart Are You?

***Tonight for the first time, the junior high youth group will be leading the service. The junior high youth band has been practicing for this for weeks. It will be a great night.

***Tonight, following the service is the official meet and greet for the Pletcher's and their three new adopted children from the Ukraine.

***I have a leadership meeting today for final approval of the drawings and budget for the construction of our new preschool facility. Groundbreaking will be next week.

***I have a deacon's meeting today where we will be discussing a new Sunday night series that will begin on March 13 and culminate on March 27 with a very special evening for our church.

***I have a worship pastor search team meeting today where we will be praying about a very serious candidate for church.

That is just a start. I haven't spoken with Pastor Wally, but we probably have baptisms this morning... We will be promoting our New Member class today which already had a ton of people signed up... The preschoolers are working on something special that the church will see next week...

Don't miss this morning!

Pastor Noel

Sunday Morning Prayer

What I'm praying for is morning...

... That our worship service will feature the Lord. I am praying at people will experience the presence of the Lord is morning through singing praises and responding to the preaching of His Word.

... I'm praying for the two special speakers we have this morning. I am praying that each of them will be able to convey a contagious enthusiasm and love for the Lord.

... Visitors and guests! I'm praying that those who are here this morning for the first time will feel the warm love of our church. I pray that they will be able to see how much our church loves Jesus and how much we care about them.

... I am asking the Lord to help me preach with clarity and passion. I want my words to reflect His words. I am praying for few distractions during the message time. I'm praying that people will have soft, receptive hearts.

... I am praying for Kids Praise...

... I am praying for those who will be in our service today who don't yet know the Lord. I pray that today is the day that choose to make Him their Lord.

... I am praying for the testimony a couple pin our church will be doing during the service this morning.

... I am praying, because I know that makes a difference!

Pastor Noel

A Great Sunday

What a great time of worship we had this morning! We were completely packed out... Probably had nearly 100 visitors in the service... Thirteen babies dedicated... One public profession of faith... Great worship... Great spirit...

I'll comment more later on, but I want to say thanks to everyone who made this happen. We had special teams greeting visitors, we had people make a ton of prospect phone calls this last week, we had people put together gift bags, we had people park in the lot behind the gym to free up spaces in the main lots, and more...

Good team effort today. I am thankful to the Lord for letting us have this special day.

Pastor Noel

Mother's Day Service

I am looking forward to Sunday. It is Mother's Day, and we are going to turn it up a notch at the church!

One thing we are doing is moving our regular worship time to 9:30. We think this will make it easier for new families to come to worship who may have Mother's Day plans that would preclude them from the 10:45 service.

We are also having a very special parent/child dedication time in the service for both families in our church and families in our community. We have tried to contact all of the families in our community who have had babies in the last year. Many of those who do not have a church home have RSVP'd to be with us this Sunday.

It's going to be a good day. Pray that the Spirit of God is encountered in our service in a powerful way as we worship the Lord and preach His word.

Glad I belong to Him,
Pastor Noel

AWANA Awards Night II

The Awards Ceremony was great. Seeing so many kids being recognized for their hard work was really exciting. I loved seeing so many of the kids who come on the bus being recognized for their achievement.

The youth praise band led us in worship. One of the songs they sang was unfamiliar to me, but I saw how the kids were worshipping and I remembered that the point isn't to pick songs I enjoy, it is to encourage others to worship. I smiled and tried my best to learn the new song.

My hat's off to all of the dedicated workers and especially to Cheryl Wyrick, our leader, who, by the way skipped out on her daughter's labor to be with the kids tonight!

Pastor Noel

Interesting Day

There have been no shortages of interesting days lately. Frankly, I wouldn't mind a good, long, boring, uneventful day. Well, the Lord is in control... No doubt.

One of the biggest things going on around the church this week is preparation for the next semester or small groups (Connect Ministry). Sign-ups are coming along, but we are still looking for a number of new people to sign-up in the next two weeks.

Last Sunday Ken and Denise Tobin pulled me aside. (They are one of the middle aged couples we've recently baptized.) They told me that it was our new semester strategy for Connect Ministry that finally got them to transition from worship attenders to being involved in small groups. It was only a few weeks after being in a small group (they were in Greg Burns' group) that they came to see me about their salvation. I had the wonderful privilege of leading them to the Lord.

There are more stories like that to tell about each Connect Ministry semester we've had so far. I'm praying for more and more of our worship attenders to take the step this semester.

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On another note, didn't Julia George do a great job leading us in special music this past Sunday. It was neat seeing her sing while her dad played the drums and her brother played the guitar. We have some talented people in our church.

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Also thanks for the calls, emails, and words of encouragement many of you shared Sunday afternoon and Sunday night. It means more than you know.

Glad to belong to the Lord,
Pastor Noel

New Song for Worship...

Pastor Wally, Pastor Shawn, and Church Administrator Scott are working on doing this little number in an upcoming service...



Pastor Noel

Update...

We had a great day of worship yesterday!

First, what a great morning of singing... the choir really showed out... the worship music was wonderful... In the last three weeks, Pastor Shawn has taken our worship time to a new level. I appreciate his hard work. I believe the Lord was truly honored yesterday morning in our service.

Our Patriotic Celebration last night was a big success. Good food... Great crowd... Super service! It was encouraging to see so many people come from our community join us for the celebration. Our choir did an exceptional job. I heard many good comments from a ton of visitors following the service.

Pastor Noel

Easter Weekend...

It is an early morning at the church... a lot to do today...

I went to the drive through at Tim Hortons this morning and ordered a toasted bagel only to get to the office, open it up, and learn that they had toasted it so much it had turned into 'cinnamon and raisin charcoal'... Oh well...

I am looking forward to the next few days!

Tonight, my family and I are going to do a little Maunday Thursday service at our home. I want to help my girls really focus on the significance of what we commemorate in the next few days.

Tomorrow, we have an event at the church where Dr. David Ball will give a dramatic and multimedia presentation of the crucifixion of Christ. I think that is going to be a great night!

Sunday is resurrection day! We will have three services to accommodate the crowd... you can worship with us at 8:00 a.m., 10:45 a.m., or 6:30 p.m.. It will be the same service in each of these time slots. I hope having these time options will help you as you invite your friends, family, and neighbors to join us for this important day.

See you tomorrow night!

Pastor Noel

It's Monday!

We had a pretty good day yesterday. Good crowds in all of our services... Several first time visitors... A good number of decisions made in worship services...

A few people to thank...

• Choir and Pastor Shawn for the great special just prior to the message in the 10:45 service.
• The Hatfield family for preparing a great meal for our church wide fellowship honoring our recent new members.
• The Dickover's for doing the coffee set-up for the 6:30 service.
• The preschool choir for kicking off the 5:00 service.

I am looking forward to this week!

• We've got a number of people already signed up for the new member's class on Wednesday at 6:30. (Give us a call if you would like to attend and are not yet on the list.)
  
• Today I hope to spend a few hours doing some preparation for my Easter Sunday message and the two messages that will follow.
• I have a few appointments this week with first time guests who have attended one of our services in the last couple of weeks.

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Let me share with you something I read in my devotion time this morning...

Part of my reading was from Joshua 22.

In verses 9 & 10 we learn that the men of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelites after the war to return to their land on the other side of the Jordan river.

On their way, they built an altar to the Lord.

This bothered the other Israelites because they thought that these men were trying to establish a new place of worship in violation of God's commands.

So the other Israelites decided to wage war against those who had built the new altar.

Just before the war ensued, the leaders decided to sit down and talk. As it turned out, each group had misunderstood the intentions of the others. Once everything was aired out it turned out that everyone agreed on everything!

What a great lesson! I wonder how many 'wars' have been fought between believers simply because we have misunderstood the intentions of others and we have let our pride keep us from sitting down and having a frank and honest discussion.

I pray that I will always have a heart that desires to talk first...

Pastor Noel

It's A Small World Today

Yesterday I wrote a post about our friends heading to Ethiopia next week and then to Bolivia in a few months... This morning I got a phone call from Hui Chi Williams. She had gotten as far as Chicago in her mission trip to Korea. She just called to ask if everyone would continue to pray... This morning, I've also tried, unsuccessfully so far, to call our mission team in Kenya to go over arrangements for them to share with our church via a phone call in our Sunday morning worship time... I met with Henry Zigan this morning, and he was telling me that everything was a go for our mission trip to Mississippi next week... And later today, I will be talking with an old friend from Alabama who now leads some mission efforts in New Mexico about our church sending some families down there to minister with some of the Native American tribes he is working with...

It seems like a small world today.

Isn't it exciting to hear how the Lord is working through our church around the country and around the world! In one morning, I've now talked or emailed with people ministering in Ethiopia, Bolivia, Kenya, Korea, Mississippi, and New Mexico.

Our next mission celebration is May 3. We have some exciting things to announce then about how you can be a part of all of this in 2009-2010!

Pastor Noel

Big Events...

The last half of this week's schedule is packed with events...

• Tonight we have a 'New Member's Class'. We do this every four to six weeks. This is geared for new and prospective members of our church. It lasts about two hours. We have a great time in this class. We go over subjects like... 'how to be certain you are saved', 'what we believe', 'our church's mission and purpose', and 'the nuts and bolts of our church'. There is also a time to meet the church pastors and hear from them how they can minister to families in our church and community.

• Upward Basketball Awards Night is Friday. We have a 6:00 and a 7:30 event to handle the crowd. We are expecting over 1,800 people to attend!

• Sunday Extra Worship begins this Sunday evening at 6:30. This is our new worship service that we have been praying about for several months. As of this Sunday, worship times will be 10:45 a.m., 5:00 p.m., and 6:30 p.m.. The 10:45 and 6:30 services will have the same message.

That gives us much to pray for this week!

By the way, we have had very good response from our big announcement Sunday about our staff reorganization and the adding of Scott Parry to the staff. My plan is to write a letter describing these changes for the bulletin this week. If we are able to get that ready, I will also post it to my blog.

Pastor Noel

Sunday Extra Worship

We are still a month away from kicking off our new 'Sunday Extra Worship', but plans are in high gear...

Here is the most recent publicity piece we finished today...

The front and back of the card...
















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Here is a little of the room set-up. We are just running through some of the options so we will be prepared on 3/8. We still have some sound and video issues to solve.




















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Here is a mock up of a banner we are using (actually I think this is an early draft of the banner)...

























Keep this in your prayers!

Pastor Noel

More to Come...

There is a great deal to blog about this week...

• The upcoming start of our new worship service we announced yesterday...
• The special speaker and services planned for this coming Sunday...
• New sermon series for our Morning worship and a new series for our Soma Kristou worship...

Maybe I can get to some of that today. But this morning let me just highlight a passage from today's devotional reading.

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. -- Acts 17:10-11 NKJ

We should all be more like the Bereans. I spent some time this morning praying through how I could be more like them in my personal devotion times and my personal Bible study times. I know how valuable God's Word is. My prayer is that I will have a growing desire and passion to study and live out His Word.

Pastor Noel

GIC & Worship

I just got back from the St. Louis, MO area where I had the great privilege of speaking at the kick-off service of a Global Impact Celebration. We had a good night.

When I went down for breakfast in my hotel this morning, I ran into author, speaker, missions leader, Walker Moore. Some of you may remember him speaking in our church a year or so ago. It was good to visit with him.

I am looking forward to Worship tomorrow. We will be focusing on Daniel 3, if you are one of my Ohio readers and want to get ahead.

Pastor Noel

Evening Worship

Thanks for all the new faces that came out our first Soma-Kristou worship service. I felt like we had a great spirit in the service. Good comments about the way we began and the question we focused on... The ending was great. It seemed like there were a hundred people on their knees gathered around the altar, some praying alone, some huddled with friends or family, all pleasing God with their devotion. I think some bowls were filled last night :).

This coming Sunday we will continue to focus on Romans 3-5 and the Calculus of Salvation. If you have a suggestion for our starting question, put your question in the submission box at the greeter station in the main worship foyer sometime between now and Sunday afternoon.

Pastor Noel

P.S. Could it really snow tonight? It is October! I guess I'm still not used to living in Ohio.

Soma Kristou Worship

Here is a description of our new Sunday evening worship format. This begins this Sunday.

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Soma-Kristou Worship
The Body of Christ in Worship
(sō’-mă Krĭs’-to̅o̅)

Each Sunday evening at 6:00, we meet together for a special time of worship with an emphasis on the Body of Christ coming together around the teaching of the Word of God.

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:42

This is a casual time of worship that includes these elements…

· Pastor Q&A…
We begin with the pastor answering a question or two submitted by the congregation during the past week. These questions can be about current events, theology, or the everyday struggles of life. The pastor will seek to shine the light of God’s Word on these topics.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Psalms 19:7-8

· Body of Christ Singing
Our pastors help focus us on the Lord for a time of genuine, heartfelt worship.

Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power. Psalms 21:13

· In Depth Bible Study
Sometimes we work through books of the Bible, verse at a time; sometimes we study characters of the Bible in four to six week series; sometimes we tackle what the Bible says about a particular subject over a period of three to four weeks.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

· Body of Christ Prayer
We have a time when we pray for each other. Pastors and Deacons are available to pray with families or individuals who have special needs. We have dozens of prayer cards with urgent prayer concerns that our church body prays for. For those who want to, we gather at the altar and spend time in sincere prayer for our community, our church, and each other.

Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." Matthew 18:19-20