Collegiate Leadership Conference
“Salt and Light: Living a Life of Influence�
April 9-11, 2010
Eagle Eyrie Conference Center, Lynchburg, VA

During the weekend, students will participate in worship, hear from a great speaker,and attend a variety of breakout sessions – all rooted in the theme of "Salt and Light: Living a Life of Influence" (Matthew 5:13-16). Missions awareness and leadership development for our churches and ministries are key components to this retreat, but the students will also learn how to be "salt and light" through their day-to-day lives, choices, and conversations. In addition, students from churches and campuses will connect in fellowship and sharing what God is doing in their part of the state.

If you touch the lives of students in your church, whether all year-round or just for the summer months, make plans now to attend the Youth Ministry Forum (formerly Summer Youth Ministry Conference). This two-day conference is packed with rich ideas, plenty of dialogue and engagement with conference leaders, and lots of time to network/fellowship with other youth leaders from across the state. Conference leaders are Mark DeVries, president of Youth Ministry Architects, and Ted Stump, founder and director of High Impact Ministries.

Exactly how would you complete this sentence: "My Life Is..."? A popular website for students today is www.mylifeisaverage.com. Shouldn’t life be more than average? Join students as they discover the secret to elevating life beyond average to indescribable. Special guest speaker is Ben Glenn (formerly known as "The Chalk Guy"), now known as the "Messy Preacher." The praise band from the Virginia Tech BCM will lead worship.
 

Youth EnCounter: Mechanicsville
April 24, 2010

Youth EnCounter:
Clifton Forge
April 25, 2010

Senior Adult
Festival of Praise
May 10-11, 2010

Retirement
Planning Seminars
May 17-21, 2010

Impact Virginia!
June-July 2010
(4 week-long trips)

Volunteers Needed! The Glocal Missions Team is currently seeking to fill two construction teams and two medical teams to serve in Haiti in partnership with American Baptist Churches and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Volunteers must be in good health and able to work in difficult conditions. Details about the teams and information on how to apply can be found on the Haitian Earthquake webpage. Teams are scheduled to serve April 30-May 8 and May 7-15.

Prayer and Financial Contributions. Prayer and financial donations are a necessary and beneficial mode of assistance with the Haitian Earthquake crisis. Nearly $400,000 has been donated by our BGAV congregations as of March 31. One hundred percent of these funds are being used to provide food, shelter, medical supplies, and long-term, sustainable aid. To date, approximately $30,000 has been utilized for food and $10,000 for medical supplies. We are partnering with the Haitian Baptist Convention and Baptist Haiti Mission to develop a plan for using the remaining funds.

Medical Supplies Collection. Three thousand pounds of medical supplies collected by Virginia Baptists were sent to Haiti in early March. These supplies were sent to a central warehouse used by all certified hospitals and doctors in the area impacted by the earthquake.

Buckets of Hope. Virginia Baptists collected over 2,000 buckets, which will be delivered to Haiti to be distributed by Haitian pastors.

Virginia Baptists responded to the earthquake in Chile by sending an assessment team to meet with Chilean Baptist leaders to determine how Virginia Baptist Disaster Response teams might participate in the region. Additionally, $10,000 from World Mission Initiative Funds has been sent to assist with the immediate needs of earthquake victims.

Did you know that you can participate in mission projects while in Hawaii for the Baptist World Congress? The projects include Stop Hunger Now, Graffiti Cleanup, Hygiene Kits, and painting at the Institute for Human Services. Check out all the mission opportunities when you register for the upcoming gathering in Hawaii. Register now for the Baptist World Congress, July 28-August 1 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Travel assistance is available from Crossroads Travel Advisors.

For more information, visit the BWA webpage.

 

SBC Church Compensation Survey

For more than a decade, the SBC Church Compensation Survey's results have been used by church finance and personnel committees to establish competitive compensation packages for their ministers and staff. The 2010 survey is now available, and your input is needed to ensure meaningful results for our churches. Take the online survey by April 30.

For more information email Jeff Cranford, Financial Support Planning Specialist, VBMB, or call 800.255.2428, ext. 5344.
 

On display at the Virginia Baptist Historical Society is an old manuscript diary. It was kept by a Virginia Baptist minister while he was imprisoned during the Civil War. The minister was William F. Broaddus, pastor of the Fredericksburg Baptist Church. In the spring of 1862 Federal officers arrested 19 leading citizens of the town including the Baptist pastor in hopes of exchanging them with Union prisoners held by the Confederacy. The diary carries entries detailing the prison experience from July to September.

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