Iowa Baptist Conference
eNewsletter |
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Dear Friends,
This eNewsletter comes to you from the
district office of the Iowa Baptist
Conference... keeping pastors and
leaders informed of activities across
the state... and opportunities and
resources available through the IBC &
Converge Worldwide (BGC).
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CELEBRATING THE PAST...
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And... Looking to the
Future! .jpg "http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102922655028&s=1&e=001aQg9SONg36AIUm-7mgvzh_o082Mq7nhvOTHFXVVLeeLadDs2ktMvVdMoY0-mm0GmFJaOeOi4fjWq9NeXJ6blo58pF_69BJ2oNXCIjDqjoqg=")
Only ONE month away for the final
gathering of the 2009 IBC Annual
Meeting... and... the final vote on
the proposed merger of the IBC into
the MBC... forming a new district...
the "MIBC".
Click here to read the resolution.
A
"Celebration of the Past"...
and a "Look to the Future"
will follow the brief business session of
this historic final gathering of the Iowa
Baptist Conference.
Helping us
celebrate the past will be
special guests, Skip Hansen, former
District Minister... Joyce Baltz, wife
of former District Minister, Doug
Baltz... Dave Kastelein, former Pine
Lake Camp Director... along with former
IBC Board Chairs and long time Pine Lake
staff.
Taking us on a look to
the future will be Jon
Wicklund, Executive Director for MBC
Trout Lake Camps.
And... by the way... at the same
time we are meeting in Iowa, MBC
delegates will be gathering in
Minnesota to also cast their final
vote on the proposed resolution!
Once Again... all
delegates to the May 1-2, 2009, IBC Annual
Meeting continue to represent their
churches at the February 6, 2010, meeting at
Olivet Baptist church in Urbandale.
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JANUARY FAMILY GATHERINGS!
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A Few Words from MBC District
Minister, Dan Carlson...
 I
loved collecting maps when I was growing up. I
still have one of the crayon-labeled boxes of
maps I collected as a young boy! Some of my
favorite boyhood memories are of packing up the
car and heading out on a family road trip. There
were roads to be travelled, discoveries to be
made, adventures to be engaged in, sights to
see, new friends to make, old acquaintances
renewed and memories to unfold.
Those are some of the things I hope will develop
in our 2010 Family Gatherings. The theme is
"Family Road Trip." We will travel across
Minnesota and Iowa to encourage, visit, develop
new relationships and connect with our MIBC
church families. All of this will be done to
glorify the name of Jesus as we grow and unite
our hearts together in reaching people for Him
across Iowa, Minnesota and around the world. We
welcome the new day before us with them addition
of Iowa. I don't want you to miss this expanded
Family Gathering opportunity to connect in your
own "neighborhood/region"!
A Few Words About Family Gatherings...
Minnesota has been doing January Family Gatherings
for a number of years.... providing opportunities
for the office staff to interact with people in the
outlaying areas of the state. The evening includes a
dinner (at no charge, except that an offering is
taken to further the general ministry), a chance to
hear from the Executive Minister, and some
multi-media presentations telling the story of the
MBC (soon to be MIBC). It is designed primarily for
adults, but older children would also find it
interesting. Pastors are encouraged to invite people
from their congregation!
Click on the map to to the right to locate
all TWELVE family gatherings... see below
for times and locations for churches in the
Iowa & Southern Minnesota regions:
- January 14 @ 6:30 pm - Stone Ridge
Community Church (formerly Grace
Fellowship), Decorah
- January 15 @ 6:30 pm - Prairie Lakes
Church, Cedar Falls
- January 16 @ 5:00 pm - First Baptist
Church, Muscatine
- January 17 @ 5:00 pm - Union Park
Baptist Church, Des Moines
- January 18 @ 6:30 pm - First Baptist
Church, Algona
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PINE LAKE UPDATE |
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2010 at Pine Lake Camps... by
Roger Sutton, PLC Director
It's
2010 and seems like it was only yesterday that
we were concerned about Y2K and the crash of the
cyber world that we live and die by. Since
then, a lot has happened. We won't review the
world events, but in our world, especially here
at Pine Lake, God has been at work and 2010
 promises
to be a new year of ministry opportunity.
We will kick the year
off with a bang with the winter retreats.
Nathan Gann, our church planter from Mason City
will be challenging the Jr High and Sr High
campers around the Destination theme, "Leaving
Egypt for Another Kingdom" and Romans 12. Linda
Hedstrom, Summer '09 Base Camp speaker, will
point the Junior Retreat campers to their
GPS--God's Perfect Spirit;"...it comes with a
manual, the Bible that shows us God's Plan for
Salvation."
Registration info can be found at our website,
www.pinelakecamps.org
If
all goes as planned, next weekend, I will be joining
the MBC team in five of our churches for the annual
Family Gatherings. I'm looking forward to spending
time with the Minnesota Team and making connections
with old and new friends in our churches.
As we
work our way toward the final vote of our merger
with the MBC and Trout Lake Camps and in
anticipation of the confirmation of that merger, you
will begin to see evidence of our future together.
Already if you go to
www.pinelakecamps.org , you will see a whole new
web presence. In a few days, a whole new summer
camp brochure will be on its way. Thanks to much
hard work by Jon Wicklund, Trout Lake Camp's
Executive Director, and the Trout Lake Team for
their leadership and investment in the future and
ministry of Pine Lake Camps.
The key
to significant summer ministry is the staff that we
recruit. God has used these "kids" to love on your
kids, share with them the message of salvation and
an abundant life. In the process they too learn how
to serve in ways that lead them to future life and
ministry. If you know someone who might have what
it takes to serve at Pine Lake this summer, we want
to meet them very soon. Have them connect with us.
Point them to our website,
www.pinelakecamps.org . Pray that they will
consider what the options for a summer of ministry
at Pine Lake might mean for them. |
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END OF YEAR RESPONSE
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 WOW...
The response to Roger's
"End of Year" appeal letter raised over $17,000...
giving us solid footing for the beginning
of the new year!
A great big
"Thank You"
to all who responded so generously!
Over all... we received over $52K from
individual donors during the 2009 calendar
year, ($45K so far in the IBC fiscal
year - Apr-Dec). Additionally, we received
another $27K that was designated for non-budget
items, such as... Ukraine, XtremeSteps,
Adopt-a-Cabin, PLCC special projects, and
others... not to mention the HOURS and HOURS
of volunteer labor at Pine Lake for
Adopt-a-Cabin projects, spring clean-up, routine
maintenance, and hail storm clean-up and
repairs!
As a non-profit organization, the district is
solely dependent upon the financial support of
our churches and individual donors. Camper
registration fees do not fully cover camp
operating expenses, let alone major facility
repairs and/or improvements.
So, as we anticipate a merger with our neighbors
to the north in the coming year... we encourage
you to continue your generous support of the
district and its ministries!
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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 Looking
Ahead...
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January 14 - MBC Family Gathering
- Decorah, 6:30 pm
- January 15 - MBC Family Gathering
- Cedar Falls, 6:30 pm
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January 15-17 - Sr High Winter
Retreat (9th-12th)
- January 16 - MBC Family Gathering
- Muscatine, 5:00 pm
- January 17 - MBC Family Gathering
- Des Moines, 5:00 pm
- January 18 - MBC Family Gathering
- Algona, 6:30 pm
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January 22-24 - Juniors Winter
Retreat (2nd-5th)
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February 6, 9:00 am - 2009 IBC
Annual Meeting - at Olivet
Baptist Church, Urbandale (On-line
registration)
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February 19-21 - Jr High Winter
Retreat (6th-8th)
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March 26-28 - IBC Spring
Scrapbooking Weekend (Pine Lake)
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MINISTRY
RESOURCES |
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Following are brief summaries of
some GREAT ministry tools.
You can check out additional
resources at the IBC website in
regard to:
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RETOOL KIT
is a BGC resource
designed to help churches become
all that God wants for them. It
is not a program... it is a
pathway... guided by a trained
Mobilization Coach who helps the
church discover and develop
healthy leaders, a biblical
community, and a clear vision
for the future.
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of the the end results is a
clearer vision for ministry,
along with a three year future
plan. Additional outcomes are
the changing of the church's
DNA, spiritual growth, (both
personally and corporately),
stronger community, and more
effective Kingdom impact.
For more information, contact
Pastor Jeff Scherer,
IBC Director of Mobilization
at: 319-290-6874 or
jeffscherer6@msn.com
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SHALOM HOUSE is
a pastoral retreat center in New
London, WI
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facilitated by Pinnacle
Ministries and providing a
comfortable, safe place for rest,
refreshment and renewal for those in
ministry - based on the philosophy
that the health of our
churches, and ultimately our
communities, rests in the strength
and refreshment of our pastors.
Pinnacle Ministries
offers three levels of services...
from just "hanging out" to
professional counseling services.
Shalom House can
also be utilized for church
board and leadership retreats,
church staff training, missionaries
and their families, and pastoral
sabbaticals.
If your pastor doesn't know about
Shalom, please tell him or her about
it - better yet, send them
for a refreshing, relaxing break to
recharge their batteries for future
ministry!
For more information, go to:
www.theshalomhouse.org
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QUIET WATERS MINISTRIES -
offers a FREE,
24 hour a day, 7 days a week,
confidential phone consulting
resource for BGC pastors and home
assignment missionaries called
CARELINE -
funded jointly by IBC & BGC
 Call
866.526.2222 to be
put in touch with a licensed doctor
or master's level counselor from
Quiet Waters Ministries
to talk about EITHER
personal OR congregational
matters.
Services are available for up to 3 hrs
of assessment and consultation via
telephone per isolated incident per
year.
All communication with the
denomination, regarding these
services is consistent with
confidentiality laws and
requirements, and with BGC's
policies and guidelines.
For more information about
Quiet Waters, go to:
www.qwaters.org
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BGC CORNERSTONE FUND
is a ministry
of the Baptist General Conference
with a mission
 to
extend BGC ministries - by providing
loans for building/remodeling
projects within our conference
churches and ministry centers.
Our ministry is possible because of
the support of our investors, who
receive competitive rates compared
to like term investments and have
the satisfaction of knowing that
their investment is being used to
help expand ministries of the BGC.
For more information, go to:
www.bgccornerstonefund.org
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CHRISTIAN LIBRARY
INTERNATIONAL
is a Raleigh, NC, based ministry
that distributes
 used
Christian books (fiction and
non-fiction), Christian music tapes,
Sermon tapes, CDs, DVDs, video
tapes, bible study materials, and
tracts to prisons, shelters and
international missions free of
charge.
What a
great way to "recycle" those dust
collecting books! For more
information, to to:
www.cli-nc.org
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CHERISH CENTER
provides housing, counseling,
nurturing, training, and spiritual
guidance to young ladies
experiencing the crisis of an
unplanned pregnancy. They have the
capacity to care for six girls at a
time for a period of 3-6 months.
And because they are supported by
individuals and churches, they have
the freedom to make Christ central
in the home and in the training.
The Executive Director, Jan
Turner, is a member of the
New Journey Community Church
and is also their worship
director. She has seen this project
through the from the very beginnings
- property purchase, building
construction and equipping, and
staffing. In their first year of
operation they served eight girls.
Shepherd's Fold
Ministries, Inc., is a
local, interdenominational,
non-profit corporation working
to provide a home and a
hope for young mothers in
need, located in northwest
Iowa.
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 IOWA
BAPTIST CONFERENCE
Magnifying God by Mobilizing &
Multiplying a Growing Family of Healthy Churches! |
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