North FBC hosted the graduation of the Livingston Christian Academy on Friday evening and it was an inspiring event. Those little children are so precious, and all did their parts so very well. They sang, quoted scriptures, were dressed in patriotic dress, and made us all so very proud. Our appreciation to Ronda Smith and her staff for the outstanding ministry they provide in providing Christian education. Please pray that the school will continue to grow in number of students and in spiritual teachings. My heart was blessed when four of the older girls stated, from memory, all of Hebrews 11:1-40. Can you imagine, memorizing 40 verses of scripture!

In services this morning, we had 109 students in S.School, with a good crowd in the preaching service. We are encouraging all our members to be faithful to all the services, and especially to be much in prayer for the ministries of our church family. So many Christians these days are staying away from churches for what ever reason. Surely this must grieve the heart of our Lord.

We have a number of members and friends of the church who are on our prayer list. We hestitate to publish their names here on the Blog, but when you pray, please remember to pray for them. The are listed on the back of the weekly bulletin. We covet your prayers for the church staff also.

Another exciting day at church, and I mean all day! We started this Lord's Day with a special family breakfast at 8 AM. With a crowd of family members [estimated to be nearly 100] we saw nearly every seat in the fellowship hall filled. The men of the church did an outstanding job with a full course breakfast meal. Entertainment was provided by three sisters, called the Fralick Sisters, who blessed us with a number of old time hymns. In addition, young Lance Fogle, age 16, thrilled us with two inspiring hymns.
During the morning worship hour, the church was called into special conference to vote on several personnel positions to be filled, one of which was concerning me. The church family voted to call me as Minister of Education and Administration. This is a great blessing for me, as it will allow me to continue a ministry of serving the Lord even though I am nearly 72 years old, and have slowed down quite a bit. I am excited and looking forward to working on the staff with our pastor, Rev. Larry Shull, John Mew, our Minister of Youth and Childen, and Joan Buckheister, the ministry assistant. Plus, a great church family. I covet your prayers for the days to come. I will be reporting on a regular basis for those who read these blogs.

At 4PM, we had a drop-in wedding shower for John Mew and his fiance, Karla York,who will be married in mid June. Two very happy young people. John has really done an outstanding work in his first months of ministry to our youth and children.

Then, to wrap it all up, we enjoyed our Discipleship Training classes. I am privileged to teach the Adults in DT and we are working our way through an in-depth study about Spiritual Warfare. Following DT, our evening worship service closed the day with a presentation from our puppet ministry, and several songs from our small children. Of course we had an outstanding sermon from pastor Larry Shull about the church that makes God sick, the Laodicea church of Rev. 3:14.
God is truly blessing. Please pray for my church family.
God Bless you...

Mother's Day was a great time of worship and recognition of our mothers. In addition,we had an infant dedicated to the Lord, and the parents committed to training up the child in the way he should go. May God bless this child in days to come.
Plans are complete for the Family Breakfast next Sunday, May 16th. Eating will start at 8:00 AM, followed shortly by the Fralick Sisters singing for us. Following the program,we will meet in Sunday School at 9:45 AM.The Fralick Sisters are members of the Double Branch Baptist Church, whose pastor is my son. How exciting it is to have both my preacher boys so close to us!

CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS:
Mom's Day is next Sunday, May 8th. You are encouraged to attend the worship services that morning as we honor our mothers on this special day. Pastor Shull will also be leading in the baby dedication services that morning. We are very proud of our babies.
On Sunday, May 16, the Men of the Church will host a special family breakfast for all the church members. This is to honor the mother's as vital members and leaders of our church. We are expecting a great time, with good breakfast treats, and special music by the Fralick Sisters of the Double Branch Baptist Church. These sisters, well known in our area, sing a variety of Christian songs, mostly without music and with great harmony. They just recently cut a CD and cassette with some of their favorites. You will enjoy them, I am sure.
And don't forget that June is the month to celebrate dear ole dad!!
That is all for the moment. God Bless YOU in a special way.

Needed!!! Would like to have the email addresses of our church members and friends who would like to be put on an email newsletter mailing list from the church. Send your address to royster@aikenelectric.net. Thanks to all.

Sunday was a great day in the life of our church! And, we even had some rain for the dry and thirsty land....Sunday School attendance was up, and everyone seemed to be excited and happy. Announcement was made of the forthcoming marriage of our new youth and childrens minister, John Mew, to Karla York. They will be married in June, and a bridal shower will be given for them in the church fellowship hall on Sunday, May 16. This will be sort of unusual because men and women are invited to the shower.
Also on the same Sunday, there is a special called church conference to vote on calling me, DRR, as Minister of Education and Administration as a paid staff member. Who ever said I could retire...? Retirement sure does get boring, and now I can have another ministry for as long as the Lord allows me to go on. I covet the prayers of all who read these words, and pray that, if I am called, that I can be an effective and faithful minister of our church. I am looking forward to working closely with our pastor and with the minister of children and youth. This is a humbling experience for me, and I can only give God the praise and glory for allowing me to continue serving Him here in my "golden years".

North First had a big yard sale today to raise monies to finish paying off the new Youth Gym. Sure was lots of 'junque' and treasures there, and as members brought their donations, they looked around and bought someone else's! When the final tally is made, the sales will have netted more than 5000 dollars, which will pay off the gym. God is so good, all the time.

When I get the blog going good, I plan on entering the schedule of activities, worship services, etc., so that all computer buff members can check out the program schedule. Also, I plan to have an E-Mail Newsletter as often as needed to keep the church infomed.

Sunday. May 16th will be a great time of Breakfast Fellowship as the Men of the church host all the men, wives and children for a special breakfast meal, starting at 8 AM. Our guests will be the Fralick Sisters from nearby Double Branch Baptist Church as they sing for us. All church members are invited to attend, but you must sign up so that the cooks can know how many eggs to cook, bacon strips to fry, and coffee to make. As you enter the vestibule of the church next Sunday, use the sighup sheet that is provided, or just call the church office at 247-2711 and let the secretary know how many of your family are coming.