WHY NOT?

I was thinking about this the other day: Could we work hard for a “High Attendance” Sunday? Sunday, October 29 will be our new Associate Pastor’s first Sunday as our new Associate Pastor! Why not welcome him with a full house, a high attendance at the 9:00 and the 11:00 Worship Services? Why not?

Kyle, Melissa, River and Ember will be moving in on Johns Island on Monday, October 23. The staff will take a day off to go and help them move in. Kyle’s first day at work will be Monday, October 30th . We will welcome Kyle to his first staff meeting as a staff member. His first Sunday with us will be Sunday, October 29th. Wouldn’t it be great if our JIBC family and friends made a real effort to welcome Kyle with a full house? Why not? We could do that. We are already planning a baptism on that Sunday. Let’s add a strong attendance at both services. Come on out and meet Kyle. By the way, meeting Melissa and the girls may come a little later. New born twins are twice the blessing…and twice the…oh, let’s just stay with twice the blessing! We will certainly look forward to seeing them all. Please mark your calendar and make sure you can be present to welcome Kyle.

ONE MORE SUNDAY

We have one more Sunday before the biggest outreach event of the year, our Fall Festival. We always host this party on October 31. We will expect to have the usual 1,000 people showing up for a great time. This Sunday, October 29th , we will have the signup sheets in the worship center. We still need about 25 more people to volunteer.

YOU JUST CANNOT MISS IT

The Taste of James Island Baptist Church will be held on Sunday, November 12 right after the 11:00 worship service. Please note that for that Sunday, we will NOT have a 9:00 service. We will combine as a family at 11:00 and have a great day of partying! Every Connection Group and every ministry team is invited to set up a table and a booth. Our goal is to get around 200 people to visit each booth. This would be a great time to promote what your team does and to possible recruit new members or at least create awareness. By the way, if you have a moment would you call or text the office and let us know what you are planning to serve at your booth. I personally would be thrilled if we ended up with 13 mac-n-cheese dishes! But maybe some people do not have the same addiction as I have! You can call the church at 843.762.0244.

There is a whole lot of blessing going on. Come on and join us!

Pastor Tom

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure.

May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”

Psalm 122:6-7

Here is a simple explanation of a very complex situation. Israel is at war with Hamas. Israel is defending itself from a major attack from the terrorist group known as Hamas. Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist militant group. They rule the land known as the Gaza Strip. They are sworn enemies of Israel and want Israel destroyed and Hamas wants to replace Israel with an Islamic State. Right now, we can pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I was hoping and praying this war would be quick and to the point. At this point it does not seem to be the case. So we pray for peace.

FALL FESTIVAL

Now, back at home. We have two really fun and BIG events coming up. First is the Fall Festival. We never know for sure, but we estimate that we will have around 1,000 people on our campus on Tuesday, October 31. We go head to head with Halloween and offer a positive, family oriented, church based festival. We do need a large number of volunteers. You can put together a team of 4 and that way know for sure you will only serve 1 ½ hours and then you can go enjoy the fun. There are all levels of opportunities to serve: registration, set up, clean up, fun games, serving free hotdogs and drinks, Safety Team, etc. Signup sheets are right in front of the office. I love the comment from one of our members who came for the first time last year. She said “I had no idea the fall festival was this big or this good!” Oh yeah!

NEXT: THE TASTE OF JAMES ISLAND BAPTIST

Please put this one on your calendar: Sunday, November 12, right after the 11:00 worship service. (BTW, we will not have a 9:00 service that day) We are asking every Mission and Ministry Group to host a table and serve some of their favorite deliciousness. You will meet Connection Group Leaders and Mission and Ministry Team Leaders and get a chance to learn about their mission and ministry. You will taste some outstanding food. And we are working on giving away 3 prizes that you will absolutely, positively want to win. All you have to do to win is go by and meet the host of each table and get Taste of JIBC card signed. As soon as we have these three best prizes ever, we will let you know. Whoohoo. This could be the best time in a long time.

See you Sunday as we continue going through the Gospel of Mark.

Pastor Tom

WE ARE BACK!

Janie and I have been away for a week of vacation. We went somewhere we had never been before…Branson, Missouri! I had heard about Branson for years. The opportunity came up, so off we went to the Ozarks for hiking and great musical shows. And great food! We were not disappointed. I want to thank our staff and leadership for taking care of things in our absence. We are always thankful for time away and are twice as thankful to be back home. I look forward to see you all this Sunday, October 8. My teaching will come from Mark 1:29-39.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Usually the phrase “Friday Night Lights” refers to High School Football. So, JIBC is getting our James Island Charter High Football Team ready for Friday Night Lights. We were asked by our very own Coach Hilyer if we could feed 85 football players, coaches and cheerleaders this Friday before they hit the road to play May River High School. James Island Football is undefeated so far this year. It will be our pleasure to send them out on a full stomach and a strong Gospel Word from Pastor Logan! GO TROJANS…BEAT MAY RIVER!

THREE EVENTS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS

Our next baptism planned for Sunday, October29; the Fall Festival is Tuesday, October 31; and a Taste of James Island Baptist on Sunday, November 12. If you would like to be baptized on the 29th, please call the church office at 843-762-0244. If you would like to volunteer to help at the Fall Festival, you will find Signup sheets in the hallways by the office this Sunday. We need all hands on deck for this event. Also, would you consider bringing a bag of candy for the party? And last, but not least, the Taste of James Island Baptist. Once your group has decided to participate and decided what to cook, would you let us know? Just let us know what deliciousness your team is going to bring!

What a great month. I am so happy to be back with you all this Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom