Ever since I was a little boy, I have loved the creepy crawly creatures that God has created: ugly bugs, pretty

bugs, monster bugs, frogs, butterflies, lizards, snakes, birds, and turtles to name a few. I marveled at how a clear egg in

a rain barrel could bring forth a big `ole tadpole, which over time grew legs to become a gigantic bullfrog; how a worm-

like caterpillar could form a beautiful sack around itself, and then emerge a beautiful monarch or swallowtail butterfly.

So, at a very early age, I was able to identify and appreciate the invisible qualities of God (Rom 1:19-20) in nature, as

God the Creator of Life, God the Giver of Life, and God the Sustainer of Life.

I was brought up in the Episcopal church, so my walk with the Lord was on a path somewhat parallel to the

Lord, yet apart from the Lord. I was on one path and God was on another. I attended worship services and Sunday

School, but really did not worship the One True God. I heard the Bible read, but was not really encouraged to read the

Bible for myself in a daily quiet time. I knew about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, but I really did not know the Great

Triune God—The Great I Am of the Bible—personally for myself. All the while, God kept putting people on my path

to draw me unto Himself—a babysitter who would ask me to read my Bible to her; a dear next-door neighbor who

shared her faith and love for God with me; a college roommate who was looking forward to becoming a missionary one

day; and my grandparents who lived an abundant life full of grace, mercy, and love and shared their faith with me as a

living testimony, and loved me unconditionally throughout my life.

When I was 14 years old, I identified with, appreciated, and understood additional qualities of God that I so des-

perately wanted and needed in my life—God the Great Physician, God the Healer of Brokenness, and God the Great

Redeemer. Additional life experiences listening to Billy Graham and John MacArthur on the radio, attending Christian

youth camps, attending revival services, and building relationships with Christian friends and families, I now under-

stood that God had a purpose for my life and it was to identify myself with the Lord Jesus as my own personal Savior

and Lord, by grace, through faith (Eph 2:8-9). That I was a sinner (Rom 3:23). That I deserved death (Rom 6:23a). But

Jesus bore my sins on His cross and died for me (Rom 5:8); but not just me, others as well (Jn 3:16). That God provided

me with a free gift of eternal life in His One and Only Son, Jesus, if I would just accept Him (Rom 6:23b) and call upon

His Name, and confess Him, and surrender my will unto Him, and profess Him as Savior and Lord (Rom 10:9-13).

That Christ died, was buried, and rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures (1 Cor 15:3-4). That Jesus is

God’s indescribable gift for me and all who would receive Him by grace through faith (2 Cor 9:15). And because of

Jesus, that I am a new creation in Christ, and out of my love for, and obedience to Him, I am called to be an ambassador

for Christ (2 Cor 5:17-21), and bear witness and testimony to Him. Selah! Amen!

I thank and praise God that He led Tammy and me to Petsworth Baptist Church. We love our church family

dearly and count it all a joy to worship and serve our Lord and Savior with you. We count it equally all a joy to be able

to minister to and care for the little lambs in the nursery and preschool area, and the same little lambs and larger lambs

in Sunday School and Awana. Each baby, toddler, and young person is truly a precious gift from God, as is each one of

you. Claim it—it’s true! Thank you for being the godly parents and family members who are committed to training up

these precious children in the Lord—to love, obey, and have faith in the Lord Jesus (Pro 22:6). Thank you for allowing

me to join you and the Body of Christ in glorifying God through faith in action here at Petsworth Baptist Church. And

if I haven’t told you lately how much I love each one of you, and your precious children and other family members,

here it is … “Until He shouts, I shout for Him, and I shout for you! Oh, how I love you!”

In Christ,

Craig Smith

Servant of the Lord

Volume 33 Issue 8 August 2015

If you would like to receive your newsletter by e-mail—please

contact the church office. This would help cut down on mailing

cost and you would receive it faster.

Church Council Meeting

August 6th, 7pm

Teacher: Jim Anderson

Wednesday nights

Explicit Gospel

by Matt Chandler

Six Week Study

Hunter Safety

Training

Aug. 8th

Men’s Breakfast

Aug. 1st, 7:30 am

Speaker: Jim Munson

A huge thank you to all those who served this awe-

some week of VBS. We've had large numbers

of children each night where the love of Jesus was

shared. Also, thank you for your prayers, dona-

tions and continued support of our VBS here at

Petsworth. Look for something "special" in the

next week or so. On average there were over 140

participants and workers.

Preaching Schedule 8/2 Brian Russell 8/23 David Wilson

8/9 Jim Anderson 8/30 David Wilson

8/18 David Wilson 9/6 Jeremiah Verdin

Exciting concerts, powerful preaching and

lots of laughter.

Remaining balance is due Aug. 31st

Cost Includes Conference, Concerts,

2 Nights Lodging and 4 Buffet Meals $179-$249

For more information see Ruth Sapp

Petsworth Girls Bible Study/

Craft Day

Tuesday, August 11th

10:00-11:30

Parable of the Lost Son – Luke 15:11-32

Craft – Tie-dye T-shirts

Bring a white or light colored t-shirt

Bring some friends!

Any questions? Call Heather Whitson 804-693-3244

The Backpack and Haircut Ministry will be col-

lecting new school supplies from now through

Aug. 30th. The event will be on Sunday, Aug.

30th from 1:30—4:30 pm. We will provide a de-

tailed list of supplies at a later time. *If you

know a professional stylist who is willing to

serve at this awesome event, please contact Julie

Blake @ 804-694-6921

Sunday, August 30th

FREE School

Supplies And

Haircuts

As we have had a couple months of rest and rejuve-

nation, the AWANA program is getting geared up for

another fun and exciting year learning about Jesus

and hiding God’s word in our heart through scripture

memorization. Starting mid-Aug. leaders will have a

few weeks of training to prep for the upcoming year

in serving our Lord and the children.

Matthew 9:37 –38 says: Then he said to his disciples,

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out

workers into his harvest field.”

WE NEED MORE FARMERS FOR JESUS!

ARE YOU WILLING TO HELP YOUNG LIVES

BUILD A STRONG FAITH IN JESUS, or do you

say “someone else will do it.”

We are excited about

what the Lord is doing

and will continue to do

the upcoming AWANA

year.

EVERY CHILD,

EVERYWHERE

In His Service,

Jim Munson

Commander

AWANA listeners needed

on Sunday evenings from

5:30 – 6:30 pm

Starting Sept. 13th

AWANA Staff Meeting

Aug. 9th 4-5pm

Preschool Open House

Aug. 25th

Meet the teachers and students. Get your

questions answered. 3 year class still accepting

applications

Crossover meeting

from 5:00-7:30

PM on Wednesday

Nights

Parent Ministry Seminar

August 22nd

5:00-8:00 PM

At the last Parent Ministry

Seminar I passed out a

questionnaire that asked you what

you would like to learn about and

80% or more of you stated that

you would like to learn about

Biblical child discipline. We will

address the parental concern at

this Parent Ministry Conference.

Gloucester County

Schools

Back to School

Sept. 8th Great time to share the Gospel and

invite your friends to church

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Men’s

Breakfast 7:30 AM

2 Brian

Russell

3 PSC

6:30 PM

4 Deacon’s Meeting 6:30 PM

5 Youth

Crossover 5 PM;

Adult Bible Studay, Children

Study 6:30 PM

6 Church Council

7 PM

7 S.A.M. Trip

Master’s Hand

Quartet Poquoson

3 PM

8 Hunter Safety

8:30 AM

9 Jim

Anderson

AWANA Staff

Meeting

10 PSC

6:30 PM

11 Girls Bible Study/Craft

Day 10AM

12 Youth

Crossover 5 PM;

Adult Bible Studay, Children

Study 6:30 PM

13 14 15

16 Fellowship Committee

Meeting after Church

17 PSC

6:30 PM

18 19 Youth

Crossover 5 PM;

Adult Bible Studay, Children

Study

20 21 22 Parent

Ministry Seminar 5 - 8 PM

23 AWANA Campfire

Registration 4-6 PM

24 PSC

6:30 PM

25 Preschool

Open House 7 PM

26 Loni Wood Screenings 8:30—4 PM

Youth Crossover

5 PM; Adult Bible

Studay, Children Study

6:30 PM

27 28

29 AWANA Training Ebenezer Church Harcum

9am - 3:30 PM

30 Back to School Event

1:30 –4:30 PM

31

PSC 6:30 PM

Petsworth Baptist Church 2471 Hickory Fork Road Gloucester Virginia 23061

Non-profit Organization Permit No. 52

U.S. POSTAGE PAID Gloucester, Virginia 23061

August Nursery/Preschool Missionaries List Sunday

9:45 am Sunday School

8:30 & 11:00 am Worship

5:00-7:00 p.m. AWANA,

Youth Growth Groups

Wednesday

Youth Crossover

5-7:45 pm

Bible Study -

Preschool, Children & Adults,

Nursery Provided

6:30-7:30 pm

DEACON OF THE WEEK 2) James Waters 9) Bill Weaver

16) Todd Blake 23) Jim Cason

30) Tim Deaver

James Waters Chairman of Deacons

Kyle Johnston Director, Weekday Preschool

Faye Gibson Women’s Ministry Director

Neal Keen Men’s Ministry Coordinator

Bill Sapp AWANA Commander

Ruth Sapp S.A.M. Ministry

Jeremiah Verdin, Youth Pastor,

804-445-3676

E-mail: jeremiahverdin@gmail.com

Pat Eastwood, Church Coordinator

Email: pat.eastwood@petsworthchurch.org

Rebecca Autry, Secretary

Email: rebecca.autry@petsworthchurch.org

Church Office: 804-693-3024 Fax: 694-0964

Web:www.petsworthchurch.org

Tammy & Craig Smith, Children’s

Coordinators

804-693-2151

8:30 AM Service 11:00 AM SERVICE 2 Nursery/1: Tammy Smith, Amber Altizer Melanie Hall, Neal & Traci Keen

Two’s: Craig Smith Daniel & Laurie Naff

3’s/4’s: Dale Oliver Jenna Stamas

9 Nursery/1: Tammy Smith, Connie Shaffer Sunni Belt, Travis & Jennifer

Haurand

Two’s: Rachel Verdin Melanie Hall, Dana Teagle

3’s/4’s: Julia Shaffer Heather Whitson, Zach Whitson

16 Nursery/1: Todd & Julie Blake Audra Johnson, Lindsey Johnson

Wand Stotesberry Staci Carpender

Two’s: Debbie Myers Sara Bressin, Rachel Curry

3’s/4’s: John Myers Richard & Sheri Henderson

23 Nursery/1: Tammy Smith, Trisha Aldridge Debbie Landen, Mary Johnson,

Pat Minarik

Two’s: Jennifer Wright Melanie Hall, Doris Lennon

3’s/4’s: Helen Vann Ali & Debi Scheidegger

30 Nursury/1: Tammy Smith, Trisha Aldridge Ashley Anderson, Faye Gibson

Cathy Wilson

Two’s: Jennifer Wright Sue & Rick Symonds

3’s/4’s: Craig Smith Amber Altizer, Melanie Hall

SPECIAL NEEDS, SUNDAYS 11 am

2- Jennifer Wright

9- Laura Howlett

16- Mrs. EW Evans

23- Kinky Sawyer

30– Jennifer Wright

CHECK-IN/OUT ASSISTANTS CHILDREN’S CHURCH 11 am

2- Craig Smith, Tammy Smith 2- Jay & Brandi Munson

9- Craig Smith, Tammy Smith 9- Jim & Kristin Munson

16- Lee McDaniel, Tammy Smith 16- Teresa McComas, Youth

23- Janet Lineberry, Tammy Smith 23- Carla & Troy Girard

30- Craig Smith, Tammy Smith 30- Pat Eastwood, Youth

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Please contact Tammy Smith

you need to make changes.

(804)-693-2152