As of today (Thursday, March 25), we still have a number of individuals and families in our church dealing with COVID-19 and other illnesses, including those quarantined due to others in their household testing positive. Considering the number of people that would be missing (including several ministry volunteers), we have made the difficult decision to hold off resuming our normal schedule for one more week.
Therefore, all in-person services and activities at First Baptist Church are canceled through Wednesday, March 31. Normal activities should resume on Thursday, April 1. This will provide extra time for those who are ill to recover and for others to emerge from quarantine. Our goal is to safely get as many people as we can back to celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday after last year's lockdown!
A few notes regarding upcoming events:
Our online-only worship service on Palm Sunday, March 28, will be broadcast via Facebook Live and FreeChurchOnline at 10:45 a.m.
The KidsNOW Easter Celebration & Egg Hunt will be postponed to Wednesday, April 7 at 6:00 p.m.
Editor's Note: The letter below was posted to the FBC Strafford Family Facebook group on Tuesday, March 23. Since some on the FirstUpdate list are not on Facebook, we wanted to include it here as well.
Church Family:
We have received a few questions in the office in light of our recent cancelations due to COVID and wanted to provide some clarification to our earlier messages/notifications.
First, we decided to cancel last Sunday’s services and this week’s activities upon learning that a number of our families had received positive COVID tests. This decision was based partly on limiting further exposure within our congregation and partly on the reduction of volunteers in our various ministries due to people being isolated/quarantined. We have not received notification from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department of any potential cases of exposure at church. We are not presently aware of anyone in our church that was symptomatic or potentially infectious on our last Sunday in the building, March 14. We simply wanted to alert everyone to the fact that some individuals in our church were positive and that we should all be monitoring ourselves for symptoms in case some sort of exposure had occurred (something we should all be doing daily anyway!).
Second, in making this notification, we are following guidance we have received from the health department related to churches. The health department has contacted us twice since the pandemic to alert us of potential exposures and we have followed their instructions both times. This time around, we were simply trying to “stay ahead of the curve” in letting everyone know that a number of individuals in our church had tested positive.
Third, due to privacy laws, we are not legally permitted to share the names of those individuals. We understand that can be frustrating, but that is what we are required to do. The positive individuals and the health department have engaged in contact tracing and notification of close contacts. The CDC defines a close contact as “spending 15 cumulative minutes or more within 6 feet of an infectious person, regardless of if they are wearing a mask. Close contact is also any physical contact for any length of time.” Unless you are a close contact, there is no need to self-quarantine or isolate unless symptoms develop.
We love you, church family, and we strive to do whatever we can to keep our congregation safe and healthy. We hope that this clarification helps put your mind at ease about the current situation. We appreciate your prayers for those in our church struggling with COVID and other illnesses and for the staff as we decide how to proceed over the next few days and weeks.
In Christ,
Pastor Rick and Josh
Oh, The King Is Coming!
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This coming Lord’s Day is known as Palm Sunday. Churches all over the world will be reflecting on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Actually, the sermon title this Sunday is “Here He Comes,” from Matthew 21:1-22. Jesus’ triumphal entry established Him as the Messiah-King, the Son of David. From a human standpoint, this marked the high point of Jesus’ earthly life, prior to His death and resurrection. The crowds, swollen by extra people coming for the Passover feast just a few days away, were swept up in anticipation of battle to oust the Roman oppressors, which they thought would be led by the promised Messiah. Within the week, a crowd comprised of many of these same people would be shouting for the King’s execution.
What the people failed to understand was that the King had come to defeat a much greater enemy than Rome – an enemy that knew no national boundaries. Jesus had come to defeat Satan, our own sin, and the claim of death.
The Gospel of Matthew tells us that two disciples were sent by Jesus to a nearby village, named Bethphage meaning “House of Unripe Figs” to collect a donkey and her colt. The disciples laid their coats (their cloaks or outer garments) on the donkey and the colt, providing a makeshift saddle. Jesus sat on the colt, riding a humble animal as a king did in times of peace. Most of the people in the crowd took their cue from the disciples' example. They laid their coats across Jesus’ path in the road, as though to give Him the “red carpet treatment.” Others cut branches from nearby trees to extend the “carpet” into the city. John 12:13 tells us the branches were “palm branches,” thus our celebration of “Palm Sunday” five days before Good Friday and seven days before Resurrection Sunday, or “Easter.”
The crowd milled around the King, following as adoring loyalists that gave a picture of a royal procession. As the crowd moved along, they shouted words of praise, celebrating the arrival of Israel’s Savior, the Messiah-King. They shouted “Hosanna,” literally a plea to “save,” but by this time it had become an expression of praise for God’s salvation.
For a short time, the people would acknowledge Jesus’ true identity as the sovereign Son of David, but they would fail to identify Him also as the sacrificial Son of Abraham. They knew He had come to restore His kingdom, but they missed the fact that He was also here to redeem His people.
As the royal procession passed through the city gate, the whole city was stirred. Jesus had not visited Jerusalem recently. While His fame must have been heard in the city, He was not as quickly recognized as He would have been in the north. When city occupants and merchants inquired about His identity, His followers made him known as Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.
In closing, Jesus, God’s One and Only Son, was looking death in the face as the Passover feast approached. Only Jesus understood what Calvary meant. Only Jesus understood what true love fostered for the crowd. Only Jesus understood "Calvary’s Love Story" for us!
See you online this Sunday morning!
Pastor Rick
Worship With Us Online This Sunday!
Join us for online worship this Sunday, March 28, as Pastor Rick continues our Easter 2021 message series, Calvary's Love Story.Sunday's message, "Here He Comes" is based on Matthew 21:1-22. You can download the sermon outline HEREand preview the service plan HERE. Josh Erisman will lead us in a time of worship through song and we will continue our emphasis on the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions.
We hope to see you and your family for online worship at 10:45. The service will be available through our Facebook page as well as FreeOnlineChurch for those who do not have a Facebook account.
Annie Armstrong Easter Offering
100% of the funds given to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions are used to support and equip Southern Baptist missionaries throughout North America.
We have received $540.10 toward our 2021 church goal of $2,500. We will receive the Annie Armstrong offering through Easter Sunday, April 4. A special AAEO giving container is located in the back of the worship center or you can give online. For more information, talk with missions team leader Shannon Peelor or click HERE.
The Strafford Ministerial Alliance has decided to cancel this year’s Community Easter Service, slated for Sunday, March 28. The offering taken at this gathering each year is an important source of income for the Ministerial Alliance’s Benevolence Fund, which is used to aid families in need in the Strafford community as well as others passing through our area. In place of the community service, our church will be taking up a special benevolence offering beginning on Palm Sunday.
Psalm 119 Club Info Meeting & Dinner
Interested in Scripture memorization? Join FBC’s “Psalm 119 Club!” An informational meeting will be held on Thursday, April 1 at 6:00 p.m. Dinner will be provided. For more information, talk with Jessica Martindale or Shannon Peelor.
VBS 2021 | June 6-11
Mark your calendars! More information and volunteer sign-ups coming soon...
Read Through the Bible in 2021
We are reading through the Bible as a congregation this year, using a plan from the Bible Project. Here are this week's readings:
THE RISE AND FALL OF ISRAEL'S KINGDOM (continued) Thursday, March 25 | 1 Samuel 21-24; Psalm 84 Friday, March 26 | 1 Samuel 25-27; Psalm 85 Saturday, March 27 | 1 Samuel 28-31; Psalm 86 Sunday, March 28 | 2 Samuel 1-3 (video); Psalm 87 Monday, March 29 | 2 Samuel 4-8; Psalm 88 Tuesday, March 30 | 2 Samuel 9-12; Psalm 89 Wednesday, March 31 | 2 Samuel 13-15; Psalm 90 Thursday, April 1 | 2 Samuel 16-18; Psalm 91 Friday, April 2 | 2 Samuel 19-21; Psalm 92
Bobby and LaKeisha Williams have a simple goal—to meet the deep need of New Orleans with the even deeper love of Christ.
The area around the Williamses’ church plant is predominantly African American and low-income. “A lot of what we strive to do is provide resources,” Bobby said. “We try to educate people spiritually, financially, intellectually, you name it.”
That’s how their church—Next Level Church—got its name. They want to see people take their life to the next level starting right where they are. The church provides its neighbors with assistance including health fairs and meal distribution, among other things, all with the goal of creating community and leading others to Jesus.
THE COOPERATIVE PROGRAM (CP) is the financial fuel for reaching every person for Jesus Christ in every town, every city, every state, and every nation. Your support of both CP and THE ANNIE ARMSTRONG EASTER OFFERING is allowing the Williamses the opportunity to make spiritual impacts in their community despite challenges that arise.
PRAY for perseverance for the Williamses as they minister to New Orleans and that the church’s compassion ministries will have continued open doors to share the Gospel.
In every edition of the FirstUpdate, we are highlighting the efforts of the International Mission Board (IMB), the North American Mission Board (NAMB), the six Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) seminaries, and the various Baptist state conventions. Each month, our church and the other 47,000+ churches in the SBC contribute a portion of our undesignated offerings to these important Cooperative Program (CP) ministries. For more information about CP, click HERE.
Giving Options
Even if you aren't joining us for in-person worship on Sunday, please continue to remember your tithes and offerings. The church’s ministries and operational expenses go on in spite of the current situation. We want to be a blessing to our community and it takes resources to do that. Your faithful giving makes it possible!
In addition to dropping cash or checks in the offering box on Sunday morning, there are multiple ways to give your tithes and offerings:
Mail a check to First Baptist Church, PO Box 367, Strafford, MO 65757
Several of our members have begun using online bill pay through their bank to send in their offering. This is a free service that some banks provide. All you have to do is add the church’s name and address as a vendor, just like you would the electric company or any other business.
You can also drop your offering by the church office, but please call ahead to make sure that someone will be in the office.
Thank you again, church family, for your generous and faithful giving! If you need help setting up online giving or have any questions, contact Josh Erisman.
