check out wednesdays at fbc connections

January 2017

CONNECTIONS

First Baptist Church of Kennett Square

As 2016 was drawing to a close I spent

some time praying over my goals and ob-

jectives for the New Year.

Every staff person at First Baptist

works to put together a set of goals and ob-

jectives each year. Their work is reviewed

and approved by supervisors. The goals

and objectives serve as a ministry plan and

metrics for evaluation at the end of the year.

While I was working on my goals for

2017, a thought came to mind. What if we worked to add

50 new members / participants to the life of FBC in 2017?

No, that is a crazy goal…way too large…totally un-

obtainable.

Scratch it. Come up

with something more

realistic.

As the days and

weeks went on I

could not shake the fact that one of our goals

for 2017 should be to add 50 new members /

participants to the life of our congregation.

It is a large goal. The kind of goal that takes

your breath away and makes you wonder,

“How in the world will we make that happen?”

The truth is WE won’t. We will follow the leading

of the Holy Spirit and GOD will accomplish greater

things than even we

50 in 2017

Index Wednesdays at FBC 2

One Board update 3

Sermon series 4

Adult Sunday School 5

Hoops season 6

J.A.M. 7

January calendar 10

January birthdays 11

Missions 12

Financials 13

Check out Wednesdays at FBC

CONTINUED on 2

This is not a goal

we will reach with

fancy programs

or more events.

We MUST be a

people of prayer.

Dedicated to God

At the Christmas Day worship service, Briella Elizabeth-

Rose McDonald was dedicated to the church by Pastor

Dan, left. Her parents, Cassandra and Tim McDonald (at right), as well as FBC’s congregation,

promised to help raise her in the

church.

Connections

Wednesdays at FBC

A mix of old and new worship experiences is trans-

forming Wednesdays at FBC.

A Call to Worship and Prayer continues each second

Wednesday at 7 p.m. with its mix of musical worship. The

Worship Team prepares the songs each month. The next

program will be held Wednesday, Jan. 11.

“We worship through songs from

centuries past to songs you can hear

on the radio now,” said Dr. Christo-

pher Wells, FBC’s Elder of Worship.

Those who attend represent four gen-

erations of worshippers.

They often sing a capella, using

voices over instrumentation, Wells

said.

The third Wednesdays feature a

new, kid-friendly program called

Wacky Wednesday Worship. It’s a

youth-led and youth-created worship

services for ages 4 through fifth grade.

It is held from 6:30-7: 30 p.m. in the

Sanctuary, and begins on Wednesday,

Jan. 18.

The fourth Wednesdays feature

the Quiet Waters program, which had

previous-

ly been

held on

Thursdays. The next session is Jan. 25 at 7 p.m.

We hope you’ll join us for these programs!

Wacky

Wednesday

Worship


QUIET WATERS

7 p.m. every 4th Wednesday

Now through June


Connections

Have you seen

our calendar?

First Baptist

Church of Kennett

Square has a new

online calendar to

make it easier for

church leaders, congre-

gations, and visitors to

more easily see what’s

happening at FBC.

It will also help

streamline certain ad-

ministrative functions

such as scheduling and

heat charts.

The online version

can be viewed by day,

week or month. It can

also display meetings

for groups, such as

church leadership, Al-

coholics Anonymous,

Missions, J.A.M.

Christian Daycare, and

outside groups, among

others.

The calendar is

through a Web-based

program called My

Church Events.

Finding the

calendar

Firstbaptistkennett

square.view-events.com

www.firstbaptistkennett

square.org

The first half of our annual meeting was

an exciting time in the life of our church.

We voted to continue forward in our

transition to a One Board System of govern-

ance.

We elected a slate of officers, Elders and

Deacons for 2017. We also highlighted the

group of people who will be working to re-

view those parts of the by-laws dealing with

governance and making sure they reflect our

One Board System.

The meeting may have been short…but a

lot happened, and it is exciting to see us mov-

ing forward.

Our Deacons and Elders are currently working to finalize goals and objectives for

2017. Those goals will be shared at the second half of our annual meeting on Feb. 12.

Please plan to join us as we celebrate what God has done in 2016 and look forward

to 2017.

Board

Annual meeting (part 1) proves successful

2017 church officers, boards and staff

Church officers

Senior Pastor: Rev. Daniel Nicewonger

Moderator: Kent Reasons

Treasurer: Ken Smith

Financial Secretary: Diana Freeman

Church Clerk: Barbara Miller

Elder Board

Don Poole, Jr.

Betty Gordon

Christopher “Doc” Wells — Worship

George Fresolone — PRC chairman

PRC Team

Jill Nicastro

Marcia Burton

Kent Reasons

Nick Everhart

Deacon Board

Hospitality: Kathy Allaband

Property: Tim McDonald

Stewardship: Ken Smith and Diana Freeman

Membership: David Freeman

Christian Living: Linda Smith

Missions: Marcia Burton

Administrative Assistant

Monica Fragale

Bylaw Review Team

Pastor Dan

George Fresolone

Ken Smith

Don Poole, Jr.

Betty Gordon

Connections

Sermon series…looking ahead

Jan. 1, 2017

Donnie Poole III will be preaching. Donnie has been traveling

with Teen Challenge to many different churches and sharing the gos-

pel message. It will be great to welcome him to his home church.

Jan. 8, 2017

What does 2017 hold for the life of FBC? Pastor Dan will be

sharing some of the goals the Elders / Deacons have adopted for the

New Year.

You will not want to miss this exciting Sunday as we look to

the future and prayerfully think about what God could do in our

midst.

Jan. 15, 22, Feb. 5, 12, 19, 26

“I Believe” — A sermon series exploring the Apostles’

Creed

What does it mean to be a Christian? What are the core

beliefs that shape the Christian faith?

While we may wrestle with similar questions today these

were questions the early church struggled to understand. Their

response to such questions was to put together a statement of

the Christian faith. A summary of the main points of what

Christians believe.

In the early fourth century the Apostles’ Creed took shape

and has served as a summary of the apostolic teaching of the gospel, even though the creed was not written by the ac-

tual apostles. Over the next few weeks we will look at the meaning of the Apostles’ Creed. The Creed begins with

two simple yet deeply profound words… “I Believe.” We will explore the truths that have been at the heart of the

Gospel message since the days when Jesus walked among us.

Jan. 29

Youth Sunday; our youth always do a great job leading us in worship. They challenge us to think about faith and

obedience to God’s call on our lives in different ways. Make plans to join us for this special youth led worship expe-

rience.

Connections

2017 Adult Sunday school opportunities

Crusaders Class

Teachers: Martha Dunn, Paul Freeman

The Crusaders Class has been meeting for about 60 years.

Martha and Paul lead this class using the Union Gospel Press Bible

Expositor Illuminator curriculum. There is time for getting to

know each other sharing life’s journey with each other. Martha has

been teaching for four years.

Teacher: Ken Smith

This is a 13-week

topical study series on

“Knowing God Biblical-

ly.” Scripture teaches us

that we are to continually

seek God’s face.

One of the ways we

seek God’s face is to get

to know more about Him

and His character as re-

vealed in the Bible.

This study series has

practical application to

our daily life in God’s kingdom. Knowing God bibli-

cally is to the Believer’s life like salt is to a stew.

Knowing God biblically helps us regain the awe and

intimacy we felt when we first came to know Jesus.

Equally important, the more we know about

God’s attributes, the bet-

ter equipped we are car-

ry out His will in our

daily lives.

The class format will be

organized around a

weekly teaching and

group discussion.

Besides the Bible, this

series will be using

source materials from a

DVD series by Rev.

John Snyder titled

“Behold Your God: Re-

thinking God Biblically”, along with two of A.W. To-

zer’s books The Pursuit of God and in Search of the

Holy.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah,

“Behold your God!” (Isaiah 40:9, ESV)

Through The Bible

Teachers: George Fresolone, Don Poole Jr.

We are taking a chronological trip through the New Testament

using the Chronological Study Bible (NKJV) and The Archeologi-

cal Study Bible (NIV). We use no formal curriculum. I (George)

prepare open ended questions and we ask the Holy Spirit to lead our

discussions.

Knowing God Biblically (Star ts Jan. 8th)

Connections

FBC on YouTube http://bit.ly/2bJbbck Catch up on worship services, Second Wednesdays, and more.

Hoops season promises plenty of competition First Baptist Church members will

start the new year by lacing up their

sneakers and practicing their free

throws.

It’s basketball season for area

churches, and FBC’s team will launch

its season on Tuesday, Jan. 3 with a 7

p.m. game against Mt. Vernon Church.

All but two games during the

three-month season will be played on

Tuesday nights; the rest will be on Sat-

urday mornings. Games are played at

Cornerstone Presbyterian Church at

Gypsy Hill Road and Route 896 in

Landenberg.

First Baptist’s squad of hoopsters

will play a double-header at the end of

February. Playoffs begin the second

week of March.

Tuesday, Jan. 3 7 p.m. Kennett vs. Mt. Vernon

Tuesday, Jan. 10 9 p.m. Nazarene vs. Kennett

Tuesday, Jan. 17 8 p.m. Kennett vs. Stillwater

Tuesday, Jan. 24 NO GAME

Tuesday, Jan. 31 7 p.m. Encounter vs. Kennett

Tuesday, Feb. 7 7 p.m. Corner Blue vs. Kennett

Tuesday, Feb. 14 9 p.m. Kennett vs. Barn

Saturday, Feb. 18 10 a.m. Kennett vs. Nazarene

Tuesday, Feb. 21 7 p.m. Mt. Vernon vs. Kennett

Tuesday, Feb. 28 8 p.m. Kennett vs. Media

9 p.m. CLC Lime vs. Kennett

Saturday, March 4 10 a.m. Corner Grey vs. Kennett

Tuesday, March 7 7 p.m. Kennett vs. CLC Black

Tuesday, March 14 Playoffs



In this file photo from 2016, Tim McDonald goes up for a two-pointer.

Connections

On the Web: www.jamdaycarekennettsquare.com

On Facebook:

www.facebook.com/jamdaycare

The goal of J.A.M.

Christian Daycare is to

partner with parents to

develop the whole child.

The joy of a Chris-

tian daycare is that we

are interested in the

spiritual development of

children along with the

academic and physical

growth.

As we begin a new

curriculum this year, we

are also developing a

Bible curriculum which

will be taught alongside the

High Scope program.

By teaching the Bible, we

aim to introduce children to the

God who created them and loves

them.

Below are tips from Teach-

ing Bible Stories to Preschool-

ers by Debbie Trafton O’Neal in

Children’s Ministry Magazine.

She gives guidance on how

to present Bible stories to young

children. When stories have ab-

stract meanings and symbols the

children may not understand,

she suggests keeping the follow-

ing four tips in mind.

1. Be aware. Know how well

your children can relate to the sym-

bols in the stories. Then use that in-

formation to guide you over the cog-

nitive bridges to understanding.

Kids who have an experience

base to understand the story well may

need fewer bridges.

For example, most children have

experienced the beauty of a rainbow.

So it’s easy to tell the “rainbow story”

from Genesis 9 and say, “When we

see the rainbow, it reminds us of

God’s promise to take care of all peo-

ple.”

2. Make stories relate. Identify

themes that children have knowledge

of-friendship, fear, or kind-

ness. Then connect the Bible

story to one of these well-

known themes.

Stories that show how God

works in kids’ lives will

stick with them.

3. Be faithful. To the Bible

text, that is. Evaluate stories

from storybooks ahead of

time. Does this version

stretch the truth, perhaps

with animals who speak?

Does it conveniently exclude parts of

the truth? Are there value judgments

that don’t appear in the Bible version?

Remember, stories told over and

over form a basis for faith develop-

ment.

4. Present God accurately. It

would be unfair to present a loving

God as only kind and gentle because

love can also be angry or unhappy.

It’s important to tell the whole

story. God’s anger or unhappiness

with people isn’t permanent. For-

giveness, renewal, and salvation are a

part of all Bible stories.

Nancy Nicewonger

Bible curriculum being developed for J.A.M.

Connections

J.A.M. brings families together with Angel Breakfast On Dec. 9,

J.A.M. Christian

Daycare held its

annual Angel

Breakfast,

where children

sang songs for

their parents and

then enjoyed

breakfast with

them. Parents

were also asked

to bring rice to

help J.A.M. and

First Baptist

meet its goal of

collecting 400

pounds of rice

for families in

need.

First Baptist Church has re-

served a table at the annual MLK

CommUNITY Day breakfast.

The breakfast will be held

Jan. 16, 2017 at the Red Clay

Room. If interested in joining

FBC’s table, please contact

Monica at 610-444-5320 or e-

mail fbc.admin.assist

@verizon.net. Tickets are $20.

More information about the

MLK CommUNITY Day Break-

fast can be found at

www.mlkcommunity.org.

Once again this year your generosity has come

through in a big way as we partnered with Kennett Area

Community Service.

We played an active part in providing 600 food bas-

kets for local families in need. JAM Daycare, Monte Ho-

reb, members of AA and our church family came together

to collect close to 500 bags of rice!

On Dec. 15, members from our congregation went to

New Garden Township building to help assemble the bas-

kets. It was a fun time of fellowship and service.

You can go to www.facebook.com/

KennettFoodCupboard and see a time-lapse video of the

entire process to assemble the baskets. See if you can find

“our people” in the midst of all the workers.

KACS sent a very nice thank-you to all the groups that participated. Thank you once again for helping us

help those serving those in need.

Connections

Join First Baptist Church at MLK CommUNITY breakfast

Baptized Isaac Rose, at left, and Cora Goldberg, above, were baptized on Christmas Day during the worship service.

Photos by Cassandra McDonald

Thank you for rice collection

Connections

JANUARY 2017

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

Communion and Deacon Offering New Year's Day 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Sunday School 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Worship 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM AA Alcathon 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Monte Horeb

2 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA- Mid-Day Miracles 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM MLK Com-mUNITY choir practice

3 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA- Mid-Day Miracles 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM J.A.M. Day-care staff meeting 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM AA meeting

4 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA- Mid-Day Miracles 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Remove Christmas decorations 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Youth Group 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Al-Anon

5 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA- Mid-Day Miracles 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Monte Horeb monthly director meet-ing 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Kacie's Cause 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM AA meeting

6 Epiphany 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA- Mid-Day Miracles 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Monte Horeb

7 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA- Mid-Day Miracles

8 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Sunday School

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Worship

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Fellowship luncheon --

B. Miller's Sunday School class

6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Monte Horeb

9

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM Mission

Team meeting

7:00 PM -

9:00 PMElder/deacon

meeting

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM MLK

CommUNITY choir practice

10

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Faith

Community Network

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

6:00 PM -

7:30 PM Brownie Troop

4424 meeting

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM AA

meeting

9:00 PM - 10:00 PM FBC

basketball vs. Nazarene

11 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Call to

Worship and Prayer

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Youth

Group

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Al-

Anon

12 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Kacie's

Cause

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM AA

meeting

13 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Monte

Horeb

14 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Men's

breakfast

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles




16 Martin L. King, Jr. Day

MLK CommUNITY Day

breakfast at Red Clay Room

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

7:00 PM - 9:30 PM AA

District 56 meeting

17 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

6:30 PM -

9:00 PMYoungDads

meeting

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM AA

meeting

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM FBC

basketball vs. Stillwater

18 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM Wacky

Wednesday Worship

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Youth

Group

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Al-

Anon

19 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles


Cause

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM AA

meeting

20 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Monte

Horeb

21 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles




23 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

24 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

6:00 PM -

7:30 PM Brownie Troop

4424 meeting

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM AA

meeting

25 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Quiet

Waters

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Youth

Group

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Al-

Anon

26 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Senior

luncheon


Cause

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM AA

meeting

27 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Monte

Horeb

28 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

29

Youth Sunday

9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Sunday School



30 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

31 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM FBC

basketball vs. Encounter

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM AA

meeting

1 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Youth

Group

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Al-

Anon

2 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Monte

Horeb monthly director

meeting


Cause

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM AA

meeting

3 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Monte

Horeb

4 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM AA-

Mid-Day Miracles

Connections

Evelyn “Fay” Heaton Jan. 1

Paul Freeman Jan. 2

Eric Lundquist Jan. 3

Shirley Poole Jan. 11

Ruth Nicastro Jan. 12

Emily LeGault Jan. 15

Sarah LeGault Jan. 15

Matthew McDonald Jan. 16

Jill Nicastro Jan. 16

Bob Burton Jan. 20

Sarah Marie Barlow Jan. 29

If your birthday is not listed, please call, see or e-mail Monica Fragale.

Join us in celebrating these January birthdays

“Happy Birthday” by Petr Kratochvil. Courtesy of www.publicdomainpictures.net

Connections

can imagine.

In some ways it reminds me of the goal of collecting

400 bags of rice for Kennett Area Community Service.

That goal seemed large and out of reach. We ended up

with close to 500 bags of rice when the dust settled and all

the rice was counted.

In November the Elder / Deacon Board embraced the

50 in 2017 goal, and we are working to make that a reality

for our community. Each deacon is coming up with three

goals for 2017:

Maintenance Goal: If we stop this it would be bad…

this is essential and must continue.

Vision Goal: This goal will help us move closer to

achieving our vision.

50 in 2017: This goal will help us reach out to the

community and grow the Kingdom of God

We need your help.

This is not a goal we will reach with fancy programs

or more events. We MUST be a people of prayer. Will

you join us?

Please pray that we would see God’s Kingdom grow

here at FBC in 2017

Please ask God who you should invite to join our

community

Please pray daily that our leaders would be faithful to

God’s leading, guiding and directing.

I am excited about this New Year. Excited about

what God is going to do in our midst.

Who will you invite to join us on the journey in 2017?

Pastor Dan

Wondering what the new year will bring CONTINUED from Page 1

Ann and Bruce Borquist are two of the missionaries

that First Baptist supports through American Baptist In-

ternational Ministries. The following was published on the

International Ministries’ Website on Jan. 5, 2017.

The New Year has begun, and we are looking for-

ward to many new opportunities to serve God and God’s

people in the coming year. We wear many “hats” in our

new role as missionaries serving Baptist partners in the

Asia Pacific region. Here are a few that we wore recently,

and will be putting on again in 2017.

Social entrepreneurship training through

Samaritana Transformation Ministries in the

Philippines. We offered a training in social entrepreneur-

ship for leaders of several organisations that work with

women escaping from prostitution. They all have liveli-

hood programs to help women develop other ways to sup-

port their families, but the organizations want to be more

self-sustaining themselves. Thanks to Bruce’s doctoral

research in faith-based social entrepreneurship, he is able

to help them find ways to apply tools of business in the

service of God’s call to empower at-risk women.

Reinvigorating worship close to home. We’re

working with the members of a NZ Baptist church’s wor-

ship ministry to help them apply the appreciative inquiry

method to understand their role in the church’s health and

faithfulness. We’ll return in February to facilitate a reflec-

tion and planning retreat with their leadership teams.

These are just a few of the ministries YOU are in-

volved in as you walk with us. We wouldn’t be able to

support Baptist convention leaders and churches in the

Asia Pacific region without you supporting us through

your prayers, emails, cards and financial gifts to IM.

As you walk, saunter, or run into the new journey of

2017, may you meet God in surprising ways. Tau Hou

Hari (Happy New Year in the Maori language of New

Zealand),

Ann & Bruce Borquist

MISSIONS

Borquists wear many hats in new year

First Baptist is handicapped accessible

First Baptist Church

415 W. State St.

Kennett Square, PA 19348

FAX: 610-444-0480

Pastor Daniel Nicewonger

WEB SITE:

firstbaptistkennettsquare.org

W ORSHIP S ERV ICE :

11 A . M .

S UNDAY S CHOO L F OR

AL L AGE S : 9 :45 A . M .

B I B LE S TUDY T UES : 1 :30 P . M .

PRAYER FELLOWSHIP WED : 7 P . M .

Y OUTH G R OUP W ED : 7 P . M .

J.A.M. Christian Daycare

610-444-1795

Nancy Nicewonger,

Director

J.A.M. has immediate openings, which provides day care for children ages 6 weeks to 6 years. For more information, call J.A.M.

at 610-444-1795.

Ever joined us for a fellowship luncheon? They are held the second Sunday of each month following the worship service. Attendees are encouraged to bring a dish to share. The next luncheon will be held in October.

Jan. 8 Host: Don Poole’s Sunday School class

Feb. 12 Annual meeting part II; Host: J.A.M. Daycare

March 12 Host: George Fresolone’s Sunday Sunday School class

April 9 Palm Sunday — Pancake breakfast during Sunday School hour — fundraiser for and hosted by the softball and basketball teams

May 14 Mother’s Day; no luncheon

June 11 Open

Fellowship luncheons set for 2017

check out wednesdays at fbc connections

Documents