Advance Notice, August 2006

John V. Upton, Executive Director

Welcome to the fourth edition of Advance Notice. We hope that this monthly eNewsletter provides you with relevant, useful information and resources. All of the contents are for your use. Please feel free to use the information and illustrations in sermons, in newsletters, church bulletins, and on your website. Additionally, you can easily forward it on to your church leaders and members so they can be connected to resources and information that enable the Baptist General Association of Virginia churches to advance the Redeemer’s Kingdom.

“A ‘Purpose Driven Life’ Concern”

Many are continuing to build on the fertile ground the "Purpose Driven Life" emphasis has cultivated in their church. In speaking with many church leaders following their 40-day emphasis, I have observed something that has raised a concern for me. Let me explain the concern this way. More...

Join us on a “Voyage To Discovery” at Connect:2006, the BGAV annual meeting, as we chart a course for developing emerging leaders of every age within your church. We meet this year in the beautiful brand new Virginia Beach Convention Center.

The Muslim Background Believers Convention is a forum for interaction between Muslim Background Believers (MBBs), Christian Background Believers (CBBs), and Jewish Background Believers (JBBs).

Are you looking for new ideas for your church’s Sunday School? S3 is for you. Come connect and learn from others.

“Consider Your Call”^TM Sunday is designed to enhance the power of God’s Spirit to call out new leaders for our churches and our ministries all across Virginia. A CD will be mailed shortly to all churches. All updates for the website will be available the week of August 7.

Learning to manage the spiritual, physical, relational, and professional side of you is crucial to overcoming overload in ministry. To be held on August 15 in Laurel Fork and on September 19 in Danville. Sponsored by the Southwest Virginia Christian Leadership Network.

In August 1956, fifty years ago this month, the members of a BGAV-appointed Religious Liberty Study Commission were completing their findings for the up-coming meeting of the General Association. The previous year the BGAV messengers had ordered that the president appoint a Commission “to report at the next annual meeting on the present state of religious liberty in Virginia.” It was a blue-ribbon Commission which included H. Waddell Waters, Bluefield, chairman; Horace Bass, Danville; R.E. Booker, Richmond; W.R. Broaddus, Jr., Martinsville; Wade Bryant, Roanoke; Ernest Campbell, Alexandria; Bruce Price, Newport News; Henry W. Tiffany, Norfolk; and Blanche Sydnor White, Richmond. More...

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 .

Each issue we 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.

Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (BTSR)

The mission of BTSR is to provide advanced theological education and training for effective leadership in the various ministries of the church.

From its birth, BTSR has championed congregationally focused theological education where each student has a year long supervised internship in a ministry setting. There are also specializations available in pastoral ministry, church music, Christian education, pastoral counseling and youth and children's ministry. Beyond the campus, our on-line School of Christian Ministry (SCM) is designed to provide congregational leadership development for both laity and clergy in a wide variety of ministries. Since 2002, 70% of BTSR graduates are now serving congregations as a pastor (25%), associate pastor (27%), pastoral counselor (8%), denominational worker (6%) or other (4%). Learn more...

That it’s already time to begin thinking about Connect:2006, the BGAV Annual Meeting?
That in 2005 89.5% of all messengers were registered online? (Let’s make it 100% in 2006!)
That Connect:2006 will be held in the brand-new Virginia Beach Convention Center? Check out the new center here.

As you see to the left, Connect:2006 will be held November 9-10 in Virginia Beach. There are many benefits to pre-registering (particularly online) and for doing it early. Look for the registration packet to arrive at your church, addressed to the church clerk, by August 15. If your packet has not arrived by then, call 800.ALL.BGAV immediately to receive a replacement packet.

We'd like to find your preferences for location and times for the BGAV annual meeting. Please fill out this brief survey and let us know what you think!

When disaster strikes, Virginia Baptists respond to the call for help and the call to serve. Whether it’s hurricane or homelessness, tsunami or poverty, Virginia Baptists are ready to go as witnesses to our state, nation and world. We go to feed. We go to shovel mud. We go to haul debris. We go to teach missions. We go to live missions. When it’s time to go, we can because of the combined giving power of over 1,400 Baptist General Association of Virginia churches to Cooperative Missions.

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