BACK TO SCHOOL

KEEP THEM IN OUR PRAYERS

Some of our area schools have already started back. Some are starting this week. No matter when they start, let’s keep them in our prayers. Let’s pray for students, teachers, administrators, parents, bus drivers, everyone we can think of connected with the task! These teachers are like missionaries and for some of our children, being in school is like being immersed in a foreign culture. Let’s keep them in our prayers. Pray for those who know the Lord that they would be salt and light.

PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR

We have a few events you want to make sure you put on your calendar. First, the NIGHT OF WORSHIP-A REASON TO PRAISE. This will take place on Wednesday, August 30. We have had so many ask for a Night of Praise and it is finally here! I am sure Pastor David and David Jr have an inspiring night planned that will lead us in praise and adoration! Free meal served from 5 to 6. The Night of Worship starts at 6.

Second, the JIBC Women’s Ministry presents HEARTS OF FIRE. This is scheduled for Saturday, September 9 at 9:00 A.M. It will combine amazing mission testimonies, great worship and a deluxe breakfast! Women, mark your calendars and be sure to register! You can register by texting HEARTS to 843-762-0244 or call the church office

Third, we have another baptism planned for two of our precious children. What a joy to be a part of helping these to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. God bless the parents, grand-parents, teachers, workers who pray, share the Gospel and encourage these little ones to follow the Lord.

Thank you for all you do to pray for and support the mission and ministry of JIBC. I hope you can see the fruit of our faithful labor.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

“Be Still and Know that I am God” Psalm 46:10

We have had an exciting two weeks at James Island Baptist Church. It is as though we are in the Lord’s sweet spot and He is pouring out blessing after blessing. It is as though we are at the beach and there is one great wave after another. You can’t make the wave; you can only admire it and ride it.

We celebrate the 19 beach baptisms and the beautiful baptism of Jaxon Ortiz. If you were here when Jaxon was baptized you know what I mean when I say he was the most excited person I have ever baptized. It was pure joy. On a coming Sunday we are planning to baptize Story Wolff (Jada Hughes’ daughter). To experience 21 baptisms in 3 weeks…Be still and Know that I am God!

We distributed 234 back packs filled with love and school supplies. Emmanuel Baptist brought about that many. Together, we gave out around 400 back packs full of school supplies. Mark Livengood, who is on his way to Slovakia this week, shared the Gospel with over 90 children at this event.

On Tuesday, August 15 we are taking almost 150 back packs filled with supplies to Mt Zion Elementary on Johns Island. We had about 5 boxes full of supplies that we gave to Sean Rheaume at Live Oak Church on Johns Island. He will be able to share those with Angel Oak Elementary on Johns Island. Your love was spread far and wide.

Rhett Iler just returned from Vermont from a Disaster Relief trip. He was on a “mud out” team helping with the aftermath of their floods. Be still and know that I am God.

Now, catch your breath and get ready for these two waves you may want to catch. First, the NIGHT OF WORSHIP: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30. We had so many requests for such a night and it is close to happening! You can enjoy a wonderful meal and a wonderful night of worship. You want to attend this night if possible. I hope to see you there.

Second, our Women’s Ministry is hosting “Hearts of Fire”. This will be held on Saturday, September 9 from 9:30 to 12:30 in the church Fellowship Hall. It would help if you register, but come on out even if you did not register online. To register, just text “hearts” to the church number 843-762-0244.

Now, let’s read it again; Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Pastor Tom

BE ON GUARD

This past Monday I encouraged our staff to be on guard spiritually. The Bible speaks of the devil as being a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He is a thief and a liar. He practices to deceive.
That has not changed so why be on guard now?

Take a moment and reflect on what is going on at JIBC right now. First, we are planning a beach baptism and we have 15 signed up and confirmed to be baptized. No, we just added another so it is 16. No, we just added another now it is 17. Wait, 2 more were added, so now it is 19! Somebody say Amen. In addition we baptized Jaxon this past Sunday at JIBC and are planning to baptize Story in two weeks. That is a lot of baptisms, right?! RIGHT. I don’t suppose our enemy, the devil, will like that.

Second, we are gathering school supplies to help over 250 families. You have donated, at our best estimate, around $20,000.00 worth of school supplies. The first 234 who receive the back packs will also receive a $60.00 gift certificate to The Rack Room for a new pair of tennis shoes. I have a feeling we will have more than enough to fill the 250 book bags that we have. The other school supplies will absolutely be used to bless other schools. Please do us a favor. If you or someone you know needs help buying school supplies, please come by and get some. We would love for you to be the deliverer of blessings! By the way, we are partnering with our African American Sister Church, Emmanuel Baptist Church. We have not even seen the supplies they will be brining. Amen and Amen.

Third, Pastor David and his team are planning a wonderful night of worship on Wednesday, August 30th. You really want to make every effort to be present for that night. We will feature our own praise band and we have special guest coming to participate in leading in praise and adoration. The devil cannot be happy about a church family having a night dedicated to praising our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what a night!

Fourth, this Sunday we commission Mark Livengood to go to Slovakia to help start and establish Ukrainian churches. We will hear from Mark this Sunday and will commission him in Jesus’ name.

Not to mention Rhett Iler is in Vermont working with disaster relief.

So, be on guard and be aware that our enemy may be on the prowl looking to interrupt Kingdom work. Pray a little more, read the Word a little more and reach out to someone in need a little more!

I love His church called James Island Baptist Church.

Pastor Tom

GOOD NEWS, MORE GOOD NEWS AND SOME MORE GOOD NEWS

There is Good News. Then there is Good News. And finally there is Good News. Let’s start with the Good News.

FIRST GOOD NEWS: James Island Baptist Church is touching the world. We are commissioning one of our Elders, Mark Livengood, to go to Slovakia. His assignment will be to work with the refugees from Ukraine that have relocated in Slovakia. Slovakia is located at the western most part of Ukraine. They are a part of Europe and are a part of NATO. Mark will be going to teach ESL type classes, English as a Second Language. This is a part of the planting new churches strategy. We thank God for the opportunity to partner with Mark in prayers, finances and words of encouragement. Never doubt that our Father can touch anywhere in the world from James Island.

SECOND GOOD NEWS. We are still on for the Celebration of Believers Baptism. This baptism will be a little different. First, we have 15 people signed up to be baptized. That is more that we have had in some years and we are doing it all in one evening. Second, it will be at Folly Beach County Park, right in front of the main building. (Look for the JIBC flag and pop up tent) Beach Baptism will be Wednesday, August 9. We meet before 6:30 pm and will plan on baptisms at 7:00 pm. Watch the traffic…it can be slow going on Folly Road. If you can, leave early. Many of you had a part in leading these to Christ and to believers’ baptism. I hope you will join us to see the fruit of your labors and God’s grace!

THIRD GOOD NEWS. This Sunday we will have all of the Backpack and School supplies in the worship center. (They will not all be filled yet, but they will all be in there!) I wanted everyone to see what $10,000 of school supplies and blessings look like. We will have 234 School Bags with gift certificates to the Rack Room for a new pair of shoes! Each book bag will have the basic school supplies, somewhere around $26 worth! Each book bag will have a card telling them of God’s love and sharing with them the basic ABC plan of salvation. We anticipate having supplies left over. Again, by the way, we are partnering with Emmanuel Baptist Church to distribute the book bags and supplies. There is gonna be a party on Friday, August 11 at the James Island Outreach.

Repeat after me: God is good all the time and all the time God is good!

Pastor Tom

Beach Baptism!

BEACH BAPTISM SCHEDULED

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2023

6:30-7:30 “ish” (Baptism closer to 7)

FOLLY BEACH COUNTY PARK

OK, what a way to end the summer, right? We are celebrating Christian Baptism at Folly Beach. By the way, I may have slipped up and said the Beach Baptism was going to be at another nearby park…not so much. It will be at the Folly Beach County Park. We will try to locate right in front of the main pavilion at the county park. If I am reading the tide charts right, this would be almost 3½ hours before Low Tide. Perfect! For those who are interested, the sun sets at 8:11 PM.

Now, are you ready for the hallelujah news? We have, as of this writing, 13 baptismal candidates. I know anything could happen between now and then (vacation schedules, sickness, etc). But as of right now, we have 6 adults, 4 youth and 3 children. Hallelujah and amen! I want to thank God first for this beautiful harvest. Secondly, I want to thank all the teachers, leaders, volunteers who prayed for, taught, and loved these who are being baptized. It is wonderful when you get to see the fruit of your labor. I really encourage those of you who taught, loved, ministered to, discipled, and encouraged these, to be present to celebrate. Come on and get some sand in your shoes and joy in your heart!

PRAYING FOR MARK LIVENGOOD...Mark is scheduled to go to Slovakia on August 17. He will be working with some of the same believers he worked with in Ukraine. They have now fled and relocated to the neighboring state, Slovakia. He will be helping them start new churches. Think of that and rejoice: God touching the world from a small church family like JIBC. Only a Great God could do such great things.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT HOME...As I type this article, we have guest churches working with JIBC to host a sports camp at the Medway sports fields. The Gospel will be shared and kids will be having a blast. We look forward to reporting the details later.

See you all Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

SURVEY SAYS...

We surveyed 100 people and asked them to name a messy food. Here are the top five answers: #5. Powdered donuts; #4 ribs covered in BBQ sauce; #3 ice cream cones in July heat; #2 anything with jelly; #1 Pickin’ Blue Crabs. (I did not really ask 100 people).  Ok, what was not on this list that you would definitely put on yours? The list could be long and all of it needs to be served at our Fall Wednesday Night Dinners! Amen.

The reality is that there are a lot of things that are messy in life. It is not just the food we eat. Sometimes relationships can be...well, a little messy. Family life can get messy in a hurry if we are not mindful. Look at our political world…beyond just a little messy right?

Celebrate Recovery is one of those areas of life that can be messy. Think about it: there was a significant hurt somewhere at some time. That hurt probably went unattended and became a place of darkness, a messy place of darkness in our soul. The hurt led to anger that led to bitterness that led to self-medicating that led to an addiction. And now the messy part of life just got messier.

Listen, it happens. It happens far more than we wish to admit. And when it happens it will usually get messy: at home, at work or at play. I am thankful for a church family that is not afraid of messy. You know if you eat BBQ ribs, it is going to be messy. You know ahead of time that pickin’ Blue Crabs is going to be messy. It comes with the territory. You know when you get involved in loving and caring for people it is going to get messy. Is it worth it? When you finish a great meal of BBQ ribs with a great sauce…is it worth a little mess? Of course. And it is worth it when things get a little messy dealing with people who struggle with not only their addiction but their addiction lifestyle. Yes, it is so worth it.

We asked 100 people and asked them where a person can go to work on their messy life. The top Five Answers were: #1. Celebrate Recovery, we are all recovering Messes. #2. Church Worship services where we celebrate our Father who welcomes home those who have far too long lived in Messyville. #3. Connection Groups where we gather together with friends who will pray for and support one another as we navigate the messy places in life. #4. Celebrate Recovery where…oh yeah, I already mentioned that one. It is so good, I had to share it twice. CR is not just about recovery from drugs and alcohol. We are recovering from a variety of hurts hang-ups and habits. #5 Don’t forget about your daily time alone with God. That is a great place to start sharing about the mess we are in at the moment.

Life is hard and messy. Don’t panic. Be patient. Add some more BBQ sauce!

Pastor Tom

Abundant life!

“I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly.”   John 10:10

We are literally forever grateful for God’s gift of Eternal Life. We are also thankful for the abundant life He gives to His children. Abundant life! How would you define God’s gift of abundant life? Perhaps you could use the description of the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There would certainly be many more ways to describe abundant life.

Let me offer a different approach. What if abundant life involved both the beautiful qualities described above as well as the beautiful actions like those I am describing below?

When I look around at JIBC, I see abundant life! Last Sunday, our Hispanic Church baptized 9 precious souls. JIBC is scheduled for a beach Baptist on Wednesday, August 9 at Folly Beach County Park. So far, we have 7 who have signed up. That is an abundant life action! This week we have our annual Children’s Camp: next week a Student/Youth camp; the next week community wide sport camp! The fruit of abundant life! This past Sunday, Kat Cumberledge led a Mom’s Bible Study. Her room was full. Looks like abundant life. Pastor David equipped our JIBC praise band and tech crew to carry on full steam ahead…even in his absence! More sightings of abundant life. Above I asked how you would describe abundant life. Now I ask you “Where do you see the evidence of abundant life at JIBC?”

I could go on and on about the ways I see God moving. I didn’t ask permission to use this story, so I will leave the names out. One of our members was shopping at Goodwill for shoes to wear at work. Goodwill did not take the kind of payment he had so he put the 3 pairs of shoes back and would return the next day with cash. There was a lady behind him listening to the transaction. She paid for the young man’s shoes. The young man told her he had the money, just not the preferred way to pay. As they continued in the conversation, turns out they are both members here at JIBC. Another abundant life sighting!

Jesus came so that you may have eternal life and…abundant life. Don’t wait for Heaven…let’s bring heaven down each day. I love our church family!

Blessings,

Pastor Tom