Dear Church Family,

Where did the summer go? Wow, it went so quickly! One of the reasons why I don’t mind that the summer is over is that our first Revive Conference is almost here! I truly believe that the Lord wants to do even greater work in us than what we can plan or imagine. So first of all, please be sure to set aside time for all three sessions of the Revive Conference on Saturday, September 10, at 6 p.m., Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Each session will be packed with great music by Huntley Brown starting 20 minutes prior to the start time. Then he will join with our Worship Leader Darci Wantiez for a time in the special presence of the Lord! Then, Pastor Sipe will bring the Word of God, stories of God working miracles within churches that are declining or dying. Everyone should invite someone to join you for that weekend.

I praise the Lord for how He is working in our midst. I am thankful that our church wants to reach and build up the next generation of young people. It’s a big task, but the Lord is more than able to do great work in our most needed areas of growth. We praise the Lord for a wonderful restart of Vacation Bible School! We had a total of about 20 children and a great group of leaders and workers serving to make it all happen!

We hope to get our Sunday morning children’s ministries and outreach to children and families stronger this fall and beyond. We held our first Archery Camp with 8 kids. Two of them ended up coming to our Youth Group Kick-off. Another milestone was our Youth Group Kickoff held on August 21. We had four youths there for a great night. Myself, Pam, Sierra Broadhacker, and JoJo Nickey are currently the 24/7 Youth Ministry Team. We love teenagers and have the vision to reach and grow young disciples of Jesus!

As I reflected in my sermon entitled “God Is Doing A New Thing” I listed many Answered Prayers that we can already name. Some of those answered prayers are; Unity in the church, the Salvation of a child at Vacation Bible School, More Young people coming and involved, we are more hopeful and upbeat, attendance and giving are both up, Women’s Ministry is growing and strong, Youth Archery Camp and the 24/7 Youth Group Kickoff went well, Vacation Bible School was successful and I’m sure there are more answered prayers than those.

I am also anticipating a very active ministry this fall. We will host the Discover First Baptist Class on Sunday, September 25. This is for anyone interested in knowing more about First Baptist and also for those possibly interested in membership. There’s no pressure for anyone to join. The class will start at 10:45, we will eat lunch together with some of our church leaders and get to know each other better. There’s no cost, but we would like for anyone interested to call or email Tina at our office to R.S.V.P. (217) 875-8034 or email decaturfbc@comcast.net

We are currently in the sermon series entitled Awesome Tales and Epic Fails. Featuring Bible people who had awesome stories told about them, but also had pretty large failures. We can relate to these people in many ways.

If you haven’t already noticed we have the long-awaited redo of our website. Hopefully, this will be a tool for you and for others as you share what’s available at First Baptist Church with your friends and family. Be sure to check it out soon www.decatur-church.com

In October, we will have a series on the book of James entitled “Love Does.” During the month of October, we will turn our attention to people and organizations outside of First Baptist to serve and bless them. We also might be able to share how Jesus has changed our lives during our service to others! So be ready to join in and also look for ways for you to bless people around you!

We will have a special treat on November 6th when we host the Judson University Choir at our morning service. They have an incredible way to lead us in worship during their concert which includes a large variety of music styles. There’s something for everyone and it’s a huge blessing to see college on fire for the Lord!

Lastly, thank you to all of you for your giving and prayers which help us to go forward in ministry trusting that the Lord will do great things in our midst!

Sincerely,

Pastor Chris Chambers