Be a Part of God’s Mission in the World with Your Church Family!
Wondering what you can do to join FBC on its mission to love God and neighbor during this crisis? The FBC Missions Committee would like to have you join us in new opportunities to serve, even when while we are physically distant. Below you will find three new missions initiatives by our church, and you are invited to join us as we embody The Open Church – the church that needs no building to be God’s people!
Feeding First
Honoring Those on the Front Lines
First Baptist wants to send our support and love to those on the front lines – emergency personnel, hospital workers, etc. during the quarantine. They are putting themselves at risk for us all. To that end, the Missions Committee and other church leadership have begun a feeding program, offering meals to those front line workers on their shifts.
On Thursday, April 30, 2020 we will be feeding our Uptown Fire Department lunch in thanks for their service. Each meal will be delivered with a prayer card, with a prayer that was written by a church member for them.
We will be continuing the Feeding First program in the days and weeks to come. If you have ideas for the program or want to be involved in setting up the meals, you are encouraged to reach out to our Missions Committee Chairperson: Bobby Moore (lbmoorepatt@gmail.com or 276-634-7997).
Here are specific ways we need your help:
- Is there somewhere you know of that could use a meal? Tell Bobby!
- Give Generously to Missions Opportunities Fund so we can buy meals (see link below). Sponsor a typical meal for $120 (or donate for a half meal, or a couple of meals!)
- Meal Delivery (safely, with masks & gloves!)
- Provide Desserts/Drinks/Sides (Drop off no-contact at the church)
Pray for our Community
Receiving Prayer Requests and Praying for our Community
Our church is a praying church. To let our community know that we are praying, we have ordered a banner for the church lot, along with yard signs for our own yards and outside of local establishments (like the hospital). These signs will be arriving within about a week. We want the community to know that even when we can’t get out to serve, we are serving them with our prayers.
To pray more specifically for our community, we have also created a page on our website to receive community prayer requests (which will be advertised on our church banner – see design to the right). This will allow anyone to send in a request for prayer. Also, this form allows the sender to provide a phone number and request a call for prayer over the phone.
Here is the link to the new page: https://fbcmartinsville.com/prayers/
Here are specific ways we need your help:
- PRAY for our community, our essential personnel taking risks every day, the isolated, the lonely, and so many more.
- Join the Prayer Ministry of First Baptist Church – commit to pray daily for our prayer list. Contact Roslyn Wingett to be added (wingettr@embarqmail.com or 276-732-5657)
- If you can’t join the Prayer Ministry long-term, you can still volunteer to take names from these online requests and pray for them specifically during this season. Contact Roslyn Wingett for these requests as well.
- Volunteer with Roslyn to call those who leave a phone number and pray with them over the phone.
- Share the link to our prayer request page (https://fbcmartinsville.com/prayers/) via email or social media to let your friend list know we are praying for them and want to know their prayer requests for our prayers.
Writing Cards for Parents
FBC Early Learning Center
Remembering our Working Parents
Our ELC parents are working each day during this pandemic season, most of them in essential jobs like emergency response, healthcare, and banking. Our ELC ministry has provided a much-needed peace of mind for them.
We want our parents to know that we are praying for them: for their health and safety as they continue to work, for their children, and for their children’s teachers. We know it’s hard to go to work and worry about your own health and safety, as well as the health and safety of your children at daycare. We also want to pray for and thank our parents who are quarantined at home with their children yet still paying tuition while not attending – they are keeping us open to care for the children who are attending!
We also of course have a dedicated teaching staff who will each be receiving a prayer card from the ELC Committee, so don’t worry – they are also being thanked and prayed for, too!
Here are specific ways we need your help:
- Volunteer to write a card (or cards!) to parents of our ELC children. Contact Nancy Thomas (thomas.abby5@gmail.com or 276-732-8829) to be assigned a name.
- Pray for our ELC parents still bringing their children, most of whom are essential personnel working during these hard times.
- Pray for our ELC parents who are quarantining at home with small children and continuing to keep their child enrolled in our program (i.e., paying their bill so we can pay our staff!). Let them know we are grateful they are part of our ELC, and we want to minister to them any way we can.
DON’T FORGET: THE OPEN CHURCH
Our COVID-19 Landing Page Online
Need to know what your church is doing during this pandemic? Need links to worship online, give online, social media, news, Bible study, and more? Click the link below! Our buildings may be closed, but God’s church is OPEN. We ARE the church! https://fbcmartinsville.com/the-open-church/