The Witness Dec. 2018

Dec. 12 at 6:30pm Family fun making gingerbread houses

Dec. 9 at 12:15pm In the Fellowship Hall

Adult Sunday School Christmas Party and Lottie Moon Auction

Bring an item to auction and a covered dish.

Dec. 16 at 11:00am Christmas Choir Cantata

Dec. 19 at 6:00pm Community Caroling

Dec. 24 6:00pm & 11:00pm Christmas Eve Services

Dec. 15 & 16 at 7:00pm

Living Nativity

The tree is prettier with the lights on, but

my intent is to highlight the unique orna-

ments on the tree.

Find out why this tree is different from

what we typically have in our homes.

Wednesday Evening, December 5

6:30 pm

In the sanctuary

Thanks to the many people who

worked so diligently to prepare

and serve our Community

Thanksgiving Dinner on Novem-

ber 18. The spirit among the

200+ crowd of people was phe-

nomenal! For all who helped to

set up & decorate the room or

helped to lead in the worship

time through music & testimony

or assisted with preparing the

thanksgiving wreaths or

cleaned up after the meal — we

are thankful for your selfless

service.

A dvent is upon us — a time to contem-

plate the celebration of Jesus’ first

coming and anticipate Jesus’ promised

coming sometime in the future.

Why did Jesus come in the first place?

Am I so “bad” that Jesus needed to

die for my sake?

Would I be as excited about Christ-

mas if there were no parties, gift ex-

changes, and festive décor?

It is much easier to celebrate a historical

event in our past than it is to anticipate an

event that we can’t quite visualize. Most

everyone knows what it feels like to cele-

brate the birth of a baby into the family.

But, what “should” I expect when

Jesus returns at His Second Advent

(Coming)?

Should I be afraid of Jesus’ Second

Advent — when the trumpet blast is

heard and Jesus returns as the King of

kings and Lord of lords?

I know that I do a lot to prepare for the

“first coming” in celebration of the Christ-

mas season.

Is there anything I should do to get

ready for that Second Advent—

Coming?

How much time does it take to get

ready for the Second Advent?

Are there any consultants available to

help me plan for the “Second Advent”

- like we have for celebration of the

“Advent at Christmas?

As we gather together for worship on the

next 4 Sunday mornings starting this up-

coming Sunday, December 4, let’s try to

explore some answers to these questions.

We have two worship services each Sun-

day — one begins at 8:30; the other, at

11:00.

Missionaries Mark & Pam Grumbles ,

retired missionaries to Costa Rica and

Bogotá, Colombia, will be our guests for

worship on Sunday, December 9.

They have 3 adult children & 4 grandchil-

dren. The Grumbles now reside the east-

ern part of Hanover County.

Our Christmas Commission

Christmas is all about “Mission”.

Jesus the Christ — the Son of God — had

the mission of leaving the wonders of

heaven, taking on human skin, and being

God’s ambassador to all the world. Just

before the crucified and resurrection Son

of God—Son of Man ascended into

heaven, he gave these words of “co—

mission” to his disciples

“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, to the very

end of the age." — Matthew 28:19-20

(NIV)

A major focus in Baptists’ celebration of

Christmas is International Missions. The

International Mission Board reports some

very telling statistics about the global pop-

ulation as we Baptists “co-mission” with

God to make disciples of all nations.

We support 3,667 missionaries working

with 811 different people groups in other

nations around the globe. That sounds

impressive until you hear that there are

3,200 other people groups still to be

reached. See https://www.imb.org/fast-

facts/ for more facts like these.

We will be highlighting the work of these

missionaries throughout the month of

December — learning more about the

work they do, challenging everyone to

pray for them, and giving to the Lottie

Moon Christmas Offering for International

Missions.

Goal—$15,500

Gift cards will arrive at church on

December 9th. The Ruth Evening Circle

will deliver them.

Recreation & Pavilion Area

UPDATE

Our gaming area now has an in-ground basketball goal! We also have temporary gaming lines which have been put down for basketball, 4-square, and hopscotch. Unfor-tunately, the weather has now turned too cold for proper sealing and painting of our asphalt gaming area. Our contractor, John Johnson of “Backyard Creations” did offer to provide us temporary gaming lines at no addi-tional cost, which we are very thankful for. He will return in the spring when the weather is above 55 degrees (and stays that way) to complete the job with permanent painting and sealing of asphalt. In the meantime, tempo-rary gaming lines will allow youth and children to play outside as weather permits!

Adult Sunday School Christmas Party

DECEMBER 9 - 12:15pm The fellowship hall

(following the 11:00 worship service)

We will again be auctioning off items to support the Offering for Lottie Moon Missions.

Please bring an item to auction and a covered dish to share.

There will be a table to place auction items on so they can be reviewed before church and while we are eating and enjoying a time of fellowship.

If you are not a member of a Sunday class now is the time to join in and have some fun.

Pease bring leaf blowers, rakes, tarps, trimmers, etc. Come help us get the grounds looking good

for our Living Nativity presentation.

Church Work Day

Dec. 8th at 9:00am

Pavilion update: Our contractor has nearly completed his scope of work. He ran short of soffit material in completing his final tasks and had to special order more. This soffit will be on site and up very shortly along with completion of the handrails. Dwayne Shelton has been backfilling and his work continues. The backfilling improves the safety, looks, and drainage around the pavilion. We are speaking with a concrete contractor to look at adding some stairs and lower slope ramps for wheelchairs to improve access. With the structural work nearing completion, we will begin developing our electrical plans and plumbing needs to incorporate the recently discussed outdoor kitchen.

Let us know your thoughts, and we thank you for all your support! -The Recreation Committee Team

Offering Envelopes for 2019

will be available for pickup in the Fellowship Hall the last 2 weeks

of December.

Youth Group News! (S.O.S. = Serving Our Savior) SOS Wednesday, December 5th, youth will be having their Christmas party during the 6:30-7:30 hour. Games, prizes, and review of the facts surrounding the birth of Jesus will be the focus. Also, youth will be participating in the Gingerbread house building night

Wednesday, December 12th. Our Wednesday night study “The Gospel Of John” will resume after the Christmas holidays on January 9th. Youth are encouraged to attend and bring friends.

Youth Committee will be working on plans for summer, 2019! One of our discussions will involve the possibility of a instate mission trip OR a possible mission trip to North Carolina to help with the rebuilding process after the recent devastating storms.

Information about potential mission trips for the summer will be made available to parents and youth before March so that families can help us made decisions and youth committee can make necessary arrangements. I appreciate any and all feedback before

we make final decisions. Feel free to contact me or other members of the youth committee for further information. - Cindy

Children’s Ministry News

Upcoming Events:

December 5th - Practice for singing with the choir 6:30pm

December 9th - Children will sing with choir during 11 o’clock service December 12th - Gingerbread House decorating Party at 6:30pm December 24th - 6:00pm Family Christmas Eve Service January 7th - Children’s Ministry Meeting 7pm - all are welcome to attend February 16th - Children’s Missions Day - More Information to come

The Living Nativity

Children are invited to participate in the Living Nativity. Be sure to sign up in fellowship hall or see Lisa Smith for more information! his is a great family event. Mark you calendars for the weekend of December 15th - 16th! Performances both nights at 7pm. Rehearsal will be Friday, Dec 14th at 5:30pm (dinner will be provided).

Come Sing with Us! The children will be singing on December 9th with the adult choir during the 11 o’clock service. They will practice each week during children’s worship and also on Wednesday, December 5 at 6:30. We invite all children to participate in this singing opportunity.

Baby Dedication We would like to invite any family wishing to dedicate their baby/child on December 30th to contact the church office.

5th Sunday

As a reminder, there will be no Children’s Worship on the 5th Sunday in December.

Children’s Worship We are beginning a new study during Children’s Worship which will focus on the big question… “Why was Jesus born?”. The children will focus on topics to help them better understand and answer this question. The children will be using their Bibles to find the scriptures each week. Session 1: “Prophets Told about Jesus’ Birth” (Isaiah 7; 9; 11; Micah 5) Session 2: “Angels Spoke to Mary and Joseph” (Matthew 1; Luke 1) Session 3: “Jesus Was Born” (Isaiah 9; Luke 2) Session 4: “Jesus Was Dedicated” (Luke 2) Session 5: “Wise Men Visited Jesus” (Matthew 2)

Christmas Eve Services at 6pm and 11pm Join us for a special family-oriented Christmas Eve service at 6pm where the kids will help with the service. We will be asking for members of Gods Army to help read scripture and we would love for the younger kids to help act out the book ‘The Noisy Night’. Please contact Lisa Smith if your child is interested. This will be very low key and fun for kids of all ages.

Brandon Germon

Susan Turner

Gayle Wingfield

JoAnne Hockman

Wayne Watson

Tim Pickle

Richard Eck

Nancy Adams

McKenzey Melton

Louis Chenault

Kathi Thomasson

Prayer Concerns

15. Betty Downing Burnlie Montaigne 16. Brad & Cindy Weston 18. Lauren Retzloff Bill Webb 19. Adam & Courtney Davis Maliya Morrison Laura Stanley 20. Page Gravely Kenneth Taylor 25. Cindy Weston 27. Wayne & Carol Draper Kathi Thomasson 28. Dina Mayo Robert & Kathy Williams 29. Michael Thurston 31. Clarissa Thurston

In the Military

Austin Cook

Bernie Sipple

Michael Thurston

Sonny Brown

Dean Carter

Peggy Gravely

Edith Rusher

Kenneth Taylor

Leonard Lettner

Betty Wallace

Assisted Living/Homebound

Sympathy

Our Goal: $15,500.00

WMU Dec. 18

10:30am - Carrie Rose Ellen Circle Group at Martha James’

6:00pm - Ruth Evening Circle Christmas Party at Beverly Hockadays’

1. JoAnn Hockman 2. Wick Montaigne 3. Cindy Axselle Terri Flagg 4. Jason Call Nelson & Sara Eck John & Martha Ramirez 6. Debbie Rhyne 7. Fen Montaigne Charmaine West 8. Cindy Dickerson Austin Powell Velma Wingfield Andrew & Ashley Campbell 9. Barbara Campbell 11. Rena Adams, Kristy Edwards Blake Mason Jason & LuAnne Melton

December Birthdays & Anniversaries

Buddy Sipple - in the loss of his uncle. Ronnie Williams - in the loss of his uncle and also his brother-in-law. Terry Schools - in the loss of her cousin.

Non Profit Organization Postage Paid Permit No. 6 Beaverdam, VA. 23015

15583 Coatesville Road, Beaverdam, VA. 23015 Phone: 804-883-5950 Fax: 804-883-5958

www.mtolivetbaptist.org

Alice

Dale

Claudia

Cindy

Karen

Lisa

Merry Christmas From Your Church Staff Dale F. Ashley, Minister

Karen D. Morris & Lisa B. Smith, Children

Claudia M. Phillips, Music

Cindy C. Weston, Youth

Alice B. Rusher, Administrative Assistant