KIDS AND JELLY!

Sounds like a great combination doesn’t it…kids and jelly! Even now, if I am in a rush and don’t have time for a meal, I can get by easily with a PB&J…peanut butter and jelly sandwich! The Dallas Cowboys eat PB&J before their games. If it is good enough for the Cowboys, it is good enough for me!

Let’s talk about kids. We have recently loss three terrific children’s workers at Celebrate Recovery. Dea Cann moved to North Carolina; Kay Hammer will be leaving to take care of her daughter and grandson; and Joanne Brown cut back on all her part-time jobs with us here at JIBC. She is now working full time at James Island Christian School. So, we are looking to replenish the workers for Sunday night. This is a paid position for two hours a week. Sometimes there are 5 or 6 kids and sometimes there are none. It takes a special person to work with kids. If you think you are interested, please call and speak to me, Neale or Kyle.

Now, let’s talk jelly! We are the jelly church of James Island. We have been asked by JI Outreach to include pancake syrup. This past Monday, the James Island Outreach came by to collect all the jelly we had at JIBC. The number of clients they see has increased significantly. They go through almost 40 jars of jelly twice a week. Just a reminder to consider picking up some jelly and/or syrup as you shop. We will have really big responses during Christmas and other special occasions when we do BIG JELLY DRIVES. In between, we have a steady donation of jelly. It just cannot keep up with the demand. Let’s keep the jelly and syrup coming. I am going today to buy as much as I can using our JIBC emergency jelly funds! Inflation and the cost of food has risen significantly. So, understandably, donations have slowed down. Remember, how you vote does matter…for kids and jelly!

Love you all,

Pastor Tom

Did He Really Mean It?

There are two places where God spoke to His Church about missions. My question, in a positive, thankful, rejoicing way is “Did He mean it?” Our Lord said, “Go into all the world and make disciples…” We call that passage the Great Commission. The second verse is found in Acts 1:8. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Now, with a joy filled heart, I ask again: Did He mean it? Did God really think that a little church on James Island could touch the world? Is there really any way that from our community we could touch a people group half way around the earth? Yes, of course He meant it. And by God’s grace and the power of His Holy Spirit we see it happening.

This past Wednesday we were scheduled to baptize around 18 people: 6 adults, 6 youth and 6 children. You are touching the world right around you. Rett Iler is going to St. George to work in disaster relief. He is really touching the world. We just had two members return from Romania and have two more leaving for Slovakia and the possibility of three going to Africa! You helped provide back to school supplies for over 150 students. As one of the office people at Camp Road Middle School said “You are changing lives!” It is amazing how our Father can use little James Island Baptist to touch the world.

Thank you for being an outward focused church family. If you were able to see the beach baptism Sunday, you were seeing the fruit of your labor: the children you disciple, the classes you taught, the ministries you served in; the love you shared. You touched the world starting in your Jerusalem, moving to our Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the world. I love you all!

Pastor Tom

By the way, I have another prayer request. As you may have read or heard, we have a vacancy on our church staff for a Children’s worker. Joanne Brown will be working full time at James Island Christian School. I am sure she will do a great job and introduce those children to Jesus, the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Cubs!

We are using this interim time as an opportunity to reboot the children’s ministry. Pray for guidance as we seek the right person for this important ministry and mission staff position. We have every confidence our Good, Good Father will provide.

Sweatin’ With The Oldies!

Not since Richard Simmons released his 2 Volume “Sweatin’ with the Oldies” 8 Track Cassette has there been any good songs about “Sweating”. This past Saturday I volunteered at James Island Outreach to help in the Backpack School Supply Distribution and free lunch event. It dawned on me, as I was sweating, there are just not that many good songs about sweating and NONE that I know of about sweating for Jesus. I am thinking that is a market waiting to be tapped!

James Island Baptist Church and Emmanuel Baptist Church partnered together to distribute around 150 school book bags filled with school supplies. We started just a minute or two late because of an emergency in the EBC family. Their Associate Pastor was on the way! They kept referring to Pastor A.P. is on the way, Pastor A.P. is almost here, oh here is Pastor A.P. I asked one of their members “Who is Pastor A.P.?” Oh, that is what we call him, he is the Associate Pastor so we call him Pastor A.P… Associate Pastor! I thought, uh oh, my church family will start calling me Pastor O.P….Old Pastor!

Truthfully, when it comes to doing this Back To School Bookbag/School Supplies event, it would be easier in some ways for us to do this event on our own. We could provide all the backpacks, all the hotdogs and chips, all the volunteers. What we could not provide is the opportunity for the community to see two racially different churches work together for the good of the community. We would miss the opportunity to have fun with AP and OP! I asked some of the members of EBC had they ever heard of a song about “Sweatin’ For Jesus”? They agreed with me, there seems to be a lack of good old Gospel songs about “Sweatin’ With the Saints”! OK, songwriters…get busy! Channel your inner Richard Simmons and Gold City Quartet and get creative. Thank you again for your prayers, your financial gifts and your school supply gifts. We still had enough to give to 46 bags to Mount Zion Elementary and several boxes to a Middle School. To God be the glory!

Pastor Tom

P.S. Job 1:21 says “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away, blessed be the Name of the Lord.” This past Monday I received the resignation letter of Joanne Brown our Part-time Director of Children’s Outreach. Joanne has worked with us for years in many capacities. It has been a pleasure having her on the team. We certainly pray God’s very best for her in her new roles at James Island Christian School. She is now working full time at JICS. She still plans to be a part of JIBC but in a volunteer capacity.

On the other hand, the LORD has brought to us a Worship Intern, Cheryl Miller. We have a few details to check out before Cheryl starts. She will be a VOLUNTEER (non-paid) intern serving under Pastor David’s leadership. She will be with us for 3 months as she is preparing for a future ministry as the LORD leads. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

SHE SAID, “THEY LOVE A CHALLENGE!”

One of the most fun outreach/mission events of the year has been the “Back To School Book Bag/Supplies Give Away”. We partner with our James Island sister church, Emmanuel Baptist Church located on Folly Road. James Island Outreach helps by hosting the event and by getting the word out that the school supplies will be available. Sounds like a winning combination…as it was last year. We gave out over 200 book bags filled with requested school supplies and had enough left over to take some to an under-served school on Johns Island! Yay God.

Now, here comes the momentary wrinkle in a wonderful plan. ChickFilA, that we all love, asked if they could join us on the school supply giveaway this year. Our understanding was that they would provide all 200 book bags and all the supplies! Wow! Let’s order some waffle fries and a sugar free frosted lemonade! The pastors from Emmanuel checked with them regularly and were told everything was good. With less than 9 days to go, they checked one more time, this past Friday, only to be told something had slipped through the cracks and they did not have any supplies. Oh my. With 2 or 3 weeks to go, I had no doubt our JIBC family and friends would be able to pick up this fumble and score big! With our sister church, Emmanuel, in two weeks, we could make this happen. If they took 100 and we took 100, this would be a done deal. And, Emmanuel is providing 200 hotdogs, condiments, and cooking and JIBC is providing drinks, water and chips for 200!

OK, now let’s do all that in 6 days with tropical storm Debby threatening to bring 30 inches of rain to the Holy City between Monday and Thursday with Charleston’s Mayor asking us to not be out on the roads!

I said to my sweet wife, “I just can’t ask them to do that under these conditions”. Her faith response was “Tom, you know our people love a challenge! Go for it.” So, go for it we did. We announced Sunday morning the challenge ahead and before the second service had started, people from the first service had already gone out and started buying! They came in with bags. Our friends Eric, Christen and Isaiah Luh sent a loaded box from Michigan. We will be collecting until Friday afternoon around 3. Then anyone who would like to help pack the bags is invited to the Bag Packing Party at the Church! Supervised kids and supervised adults are welcomed! Whoohoo.

“They love a challenge” she said. I usually don’t like it when she is right and I am wrong. This time I love it. Thank you, babe, for being such a wonderful follower of Christ and ministry partner.

Pastor Tom

Across the street, across the river, across the ocean

Jesus gave us the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 that says “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.”

One of the reasons I love JIBC is because you are so willing to be outward focused. As a church family, we get wonderful opportunities to meet for Bible Study, fellowship and worship. Those are, in some ways, the easy parts of the Great Commission. The harder part is being outward focused…to ask the question “What about them?”

This past Sunday we commissioned two of our church family to “go and make disciples of all nations.” This time the nation happens to be Romania. Cheryl and Anne will be working in what we might refer to as a strong established church. That church iss outward focused and has started a new church reaching out to the Roma, a group we might know better as “gypsies”. Last year, we sent gifts to help purchase building materials to finish putting flooring in the building to be used as a place of worship for this Roma Church. We also sent funds to buy “house shoes” for 326 children; enough wood to burn for the winter and 20 chairs for the worship center. Now we send one of our greatest gifts, two of our church members, Cheryl and Anne.

On Sunday, August 18, we will commission two more JIBC leaders to go to Slovakia. Mark and Robin will be working in Slovakia with Ukrainians who left Ukraine and moved to new homes and new ministries. They will be teaching children…the next generation. That is two examples of “across the ocean” missions.

We also will be baptizing, as of today’s count, over 13 followers of Christ. That includes 5 adults, 6 children and perhaps 2 teenagers. This will be a beach baptism on Wednesday, August 7 at the Folly Beach County Park. There is usually a fee to enter. Mention that you are there for the baptism. Last year they let several in free. Baptism will be around 6:30 ish… This year, we saw several professions of faith during Children’s Camp, Youth Camp, Vacation Bible School and Sports Camp. I am so thankful to our Lord for the times He lets us see the fruit of our labor and prayers.

So, we commit to continue to take the Gospel across the street, across the river and across the ocean. Thank you for striving to fulfill the Great Commandment, for being an outward focused church family, for always asking…”What about them?”.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom