John V. Upton, Executive Director

Welcome to the first edition of Advance Notice—news about Virginia Baptists for Virginia Baptists. There is much to rejoice about as we seek to advance the Redeemer’s Kingdom in Virginia and this monthly newsletter is designed to help inform you about the work being done around the state and the world by Virginia Baptists.

In the recently mailed Ministry Messenger, I wrote an article about what it means to worship. You may read the article here.

Special Note: You are receiving Advance Notice because you have expressed an interest in the mission of the BGAV by signing up for this publication via the VBMB website, by being a staff member of a BGAV church, and/or by attending one of the recent BGAV meetings. While we certainly hope that you will wish to continue receiving this monthly eNewsletter, you may unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer below.

Don’t miss this annual leadership training and inspiration event in the beautiful mountain setting of Eagle Eyrie.

Come join us as we “sing and share” together!  You may attend as a Senior Adult Choir, Senior Adult ensemble, or as an individual.

Youth workers and youth ministry interns….get an Extreme Makeover that will help you re-tool and upgrade your youth ministry program for this summer. And, full-time and volunteer youth ministers, take advantage of workshops that will help you craft new blueprints for your year-round programs.

Getting a ‘handle’ on Virginia Baptist Men’s Ministries is like trying to herd cats. There is no simple way to do it. And, one might ask, “Why herd cats?” Click the graphic to register your Baptist Men’s Group as well as to discover opportunities for Virginia Baptist Men (of all ages) to become involved in mission education, recreation, and hands-on involvement. Royal Ambassadors, Golf Tournament, Construction Mission Opportunities…. 

Wedding bells were heard for Samuel C. Clopton of New Kent County and Keziah Turpin of Richmond.  On April 14, 1846, 160 years ago this month in our history, the young couple married.  He was the first missionary appointed by the Foreign Mission Board, SBC after its organization.  He was a product of the Virginia Baptist school known as Richmond College (later, the University of Richmond) as well as Columbian College and Newton Theological Seminary.  Two months after their marriage, the couple, along with another missionary couple, were “solemnly set apart before a large assembly in the meetinghouse of the Second Baptist Church of Richmond.” More

All signs are go. Virginia Baptists are a body of believers who go. When it’s time to go, we can because of the combined giving power of over 1,400 BGAV churches to Cooperative Missions.

Each issue we will feature one of our Baptist General Association of Virginia partners. Our desire is to help each reader to understand what encompasses this entity we call the Baptist General Association of Virginia.

For this issue, we’ve asked Fred Anderson, Executive Director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies, to give us an overview of how the BGAV came to be. Read his article here.

Look for exciting opportunities provided by the Center for Baptist Heritage & Studies and the Virginia Baptist Historical Society here. Each month we will add new information from another BGAV partner.

• That Virginia Baptists’ disaster response fleet consists of two mass feeding kitchens (each capable of up to 15,000 per day), two shower units, six recovery units, and two water purification units?  Currently under “construction” are a third shower unit, a child care unit, and a unit to meet emergency power needs of families and individuals in disaster stricken areas.
• That during 2005 more than 2000 Virginia Baptists responded in disaster relief and recovery ministries in which more than 500,000 meals were prepared and approximately 250 homes were cleaned and/or repaired?  Also, more than 1000 Virginia Baptists were trained for disaster response ministries in the future.
• That Virginia Baptists will soon have a program for mobilizing volunteer missionaries for service of six months to two years?

Read more about Virginia Baptist Disaster Relief.

As always, we want to hear from you with your feedback. How can we better communicate with you? How can we better serve you? Let us know your thoughts by sending an e-mail to Paige Peak at paige.peak@vbmb.org.