Advance Notice: November 2009

Today doesn’t seem like a good time for extravagance, does it? The economy is struggling, there are wars, and children are dying of hunger. Yet in the midst of all the world’s troubles, all our troubles, God continually demonstrates His extravagant love for us – God’s love is excessive, it is unrestrained, and it exceeds the limits of reason. We all know that God’s love and grace are undeserved - there is no way to justify the love He lavishes upon us.

In 1 John 4:10-12, it says, “This is real love -- not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” Every day, across the state and around the world, Virginia Baptists are expressing God’s extravagant love to others.

"A Time for Extravagance," the focus of the BGAV Annual Meeting in a couple weeks, is a time for us -- the ones loved by the Father -- to celebrate together the ways we have been expressing His extravagant love to others and to renew our commitment to continue to love extravagantly just as our Lord Jesus Christ has loved us.

This Month's Kingdom Vision with John Upton

Listen as John shares an experience from Taiwan that helped him better understand Moses and the meaning of going beyond what was deserved in responding to the call to love God’s people.

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	Virginia Baptists are unrestrained in their desire to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who don’t know Him. The holiest days of the year, Christmas and Easter, are special times for sharing the gospel, and VA Baptists are partnering with two organizations to provide resources to help you tell others the good news.
	More to Life Virginia Baptists and Dennis Pethers are unrestrained in their desire to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who don’t know him. Listen as Dennis tells about More to Life.
	God's Plan for Sharing (GPS) "God's Plan for Sharing" (GPS) is a 10-year initiative the North American Mission Board (NAMB) is embarking upon in an effort to encourage every believer in North America to share the gospel with every person needing to hear it by 2020. The first of several campaigns surrounding GPS is be called "Across North America" and will take place through the Easter season of 2010. We need to know by November 10th if your church is interested in participating so we can begin ordering the materials. Preparation materials, resources, and media/graphic design are available to help your church experience a successful campaign. Contact Wayne Faison at 800.255.2428, ext. 6232. Visit the GPS website for more information.
	Traveling to the other side of the globe to share the love of Jesus may exceed the limits of reason, but that is exactly what many Virginia Baptists will do next June and July. The Soccer World Cup will take place in South Africa, and Virginia Baptists are partnering with South African Baptists to participate in outreach ministries during the month long event. For more details about the partnership and how you can get involved, check out the World Cup webpage.
	. . . It’s every tribe, every tongue, every nation; A love song born of a grateful choir. It’s all God’s children singing, Glory, Glory Hallelujah He Reigns . . .* [Listen Now] Be a part of the excessive outlay of worship as believers from every tribe tongue and nation gather together next year in Honolulu for the BWA World Congress! See VBMB's BWA webpage for details. Peter Furler and Steve Taylor, “He Reigns,” Adoration: The Worship Album*, 2003, Sparrow Records.
	Our desire is to exceed your expectations by providing Virginia Baptists with resources and events to help your church to share the amazing gift of the gospel.
	21-C: "Transition: Leading Today's Church into Tomorrow" January 29-30, 2010 Gayton Baptist Church, Richmond Transition is defined as “a passage from one place, period, state, stage of development, type, etc., over, across, or through to another.” Whether we like it or not, transition happens! So why not be intentional about it? The 21-C Conference is designed to help Virginia Baptist leaders lead their churches from where they are today to where they believe God would like for them to be in the future.
	The Leadership Gathering (formerly known as Pastor/Deacon/Church Leadership Conference) April 30 – May 1, 2010 Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center Make plans now to hear Reggie McNeal, the Missional Leadership Specialist for Leadership Network of Dallas, TX and author of Revolution in Leadership, A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders, and Practicing Greatness.
	Consider Your Call® Sunday October 28, 2009, was Consider Your Call® (CYC) Sunday, but really, any day is a good day to ask people to consider the possibility that God is calling them to explore new opportunities for ministry and service. There are many resources available to support a CYC Sunday: undated publicity, sample sermons, and Sunday school lessons. If your church participated in CYC Sunday, have you filled out a Decision Report Card? If someone responded, be sure to tell them about the Emerging Leaders Team –experienced strategists available to help with the next steps in responding to the call.

Hands-on Ministry Project – Filling your Messenger Bag with food for low-income families in the Fredericksburg area. Shop before you come or shop during your free time. View the shopping list for a listing of needed food items.
CASH ONLY Food Court – Bring your bills! The Food Court at the Conference Center only takes cash.
Register! Download, print and fill out your on-site registration form.
Make Reservations for special events.

Charles Hill Ryland literally grew up on all things Baptist. Although he was born in Georgetown, Kentucky while his father was teaching at Georgetown College, he was thoroughly a Virginian. Beginning in 1917, most of his youth was spent on the campus of the University of Richmond where his father, Garnett Ryland, was a long-time chemistry professor. The Baptist-affiliated school had deep family connections.

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The Baptist General Association of Virginia includes Cambodian churches, Chinese churches,
Filipino churches, Hispanic churches, Korean churches, and Vietnamese churches.
There is even a Brazilian church, an Ethiopian church, a Haitian church, and a Russian church.
And year round, we support ministries to Arabic-speaking people.
Although we worship in different languages, we work together to advance the Redeemer’s Kingdom.

Throughout the Commonwealth, Virginia Baptists are preaching the Gospel in many languages
and meeting the physical and spiritual needs of people from many cultures through missions
and ministries that are supported by the combined giving power of over 1,400 Baptist General
Association of Virginia Churches to Cooperative Missions.

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