WBC NEWSLETTER

January 2020

WOODLAWN BAPTIST CHURCH EXISTS TO

GLORIFY GOD BY LEADING PEOPLE INTO A

GROWING RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST

A WORD FROM OUR PASTOR

Where are we going in 2020 as a church? This year possesses some of the greatest opportunities for us as a church family. There are several things we have been working on over the past couple years that should come to fruition in the next year. Perhaps the most obvious and foremost is the adoption of a new leadership structure. The Bible instructs us to be led by a shared leadership model. Meaning, a church is not to be led by a single pastor but multiple qualified pastors (Acts 14:23; 20:17-28; Titus 1:5-9; James 5:14; 1 Peter 5:1-5). In order to be faithful to the model put forward in the New Testament we will make further steps in this direction during the first half of this year. This is great news for Woodlawn. Specifically, because we are united by our belief that Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, infallibly written by God, and therefore without any mixture of error, therefore God's perfect instruction on how to conduct our lives. So, we are a group of people committed to following the Bible over our preferences, personal history, or even our comfort. This Bible conviction is derived from 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is breathed out by God" and equips each one of us "for every good work." I am personally very grateful to be a part of a church with such rich convictions about Scripture. Because, from this conviction we find great encouragement. The most encouraging piece is the repeated principle that God is honored by and blesses faithfulness to his Word. Pastor Mitch

WBC PRAYER FOCUS

"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer..." 1 Peter 3:12

Happy New Year! Will you start 2020 off praying with Christians across NC for the lost people groups? There are areas where the population is changing faster than the church can respond with the gospel due to many barriers such of ethnicity, cultural, language, etc?

There is a "Pray Together. Go Together" prayer guide accessible at ncbaptist.org. You can also participate by texting the word Prayandgo to 474747. You will receive a free daily text reminder to pray January 1-30. Together in prayer we can take part in sharing the gospel across NC. Please consider participation in this effort to make eternal differences in lives of others by asking for the Spirit to move and lead the lost to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus as Lord.

In 2020, daily prayer and Bible reading will again be great tools to nurture our spiritual growth. While not a new idea, it continues to prove worth pursuing, bring great spiritual benefit to those using it. Those tools will help sustain our faith and enable us to find strength in times of need. So, make a fresh plan, and then see how it fills you with fresh hope as a Word is remembered at just the right time throughout this year!

Countywide Prayer

Spotlight Greater Gaston Baptist Association established

prayer as an associational priority for 2018. In

keeping with this objective, leadership is

asking area churches to join in prayer for one

another. Please consider praying in both

your small group prayer times as well as your

individual prayer times. May WBC be blessed as

we join others seeking God to build up HIS

kingdom through this prayer emphasis

Bethel – Gastonia Pastor, James Drennan Bethlehem – Gastonia Pastor, Dickie Spargo

Bessemer City Community Church -- Bessemer City Pastor, David Ross Blessed Assurance -- Gastonia Pastor, Dennis Wilson

Calvary Church – Gastonia Pastor, Josh Glandon

"Restore us again, O God our Savior … Will You not revive us again. . .

"Psalm 85:4-6

PRAYERS FOR SALVATION:

Joshua, James, Josh, Ceasar,

Rosa, Jessie

PRAYERS FOR HOMEBOUND OR

THOSE IN ASSISTED LIVING: Kattie Stowe, Sara Usery, Hortense Cowan

Hazel Currie

PRAYERS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY

PRAYERS FOR HEALTH AND

HEALING: Unborn baby – Reese Dawn Ballard and her

parents Robert and Jessie Ballard, Kirk Setzer, Louise Elliott, Pat Hutchins, Janet Sabucco,

Terry Collins’ daughter Marsha, Crystal Ballard, Joyce Beatty, Hildred Ford

To initiate a prayer, call one of the

following: Joyce Wynn

Pauline Watts

Jane Saunders

Community Prayer Gathering First Saturday of Each Month

WBC Sanctuary

Saturday, January 4, 9:30am – 10:30am

Please join your brothers and sisters in Christ from

area churches to pray and believe that God’s Word

in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is true for today

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

Happy New Year to all the children of Woodlawn Baptist Church and their

families. May God Bless you all in the coming year! We look forward to a great year at Woodlawn and are

excited to see what this year brings.

Thank you to those who donated

gloves, mittens, and scarves to our

Mitten Tree for homeless children,

men, and women right here in

Gaston County.

+

WBC Kids Weekly Ministries for

Grades K-5th:

Sundays 9:45am Sunday School 11:00am Kids Worship

6:00pm G.L.O.W. Choir Wednesdays 7:00pm KidsROC

(Kids Rely on Christ)

YOUTH ADULTS

$20

Tuesday, January 7, 6pm MP Room

Ages 50 and older

Bring a covered dish to share and a dollar for the

kitty.

“Preventing Identity Theft – Gaston County

Police Department”

YOUTH 6th GRADE – 12th GRADE

JOIN US Sunday 6pm Bible Study

Wednesday 7pm Bible Study

Thursday, January 16, 6:30pm

We want to invite all women of the church to join us for

this exciting ministry.

YOUTH No Activities scheduled for

January. We will start activities again in February

Note: All students must complete a new Permission/Medical form for 2020

PARENTS PLEASE SEE THE PARENT NEWSLETTER FOR IMPORTANT INFO.

6pm Sunday

Evenings

All children

welcome.

WBC KIDS

GLOW GLORIFY, LOVE, OBEY, WORSHIP

You are the light of the world… Matthew 5:14

MUSIC MINISTRY

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and

admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and

spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Rehearsal for Singers!

* If you are interested in helping us lead our congregation in

worship through music, please join us for our weekly rehearsal

on Wednesday evenings 6-7pm!

Instrumentalists!

* If you play an instrument and would like to talk about serving

the church through music please reach out via email!

justin@woodlawnbaptist-lowell.com

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all

wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts

to God.

God has created music as a means of worshiping him! We have all experienced music’s

ability to enhance and stir our passions. I believe that music is intentionally designed in

this way. When we attach the truths of Scripture to the songs we sing we can see very

clearly why God has designed music this way! I pray that our love for the Lord would

continue to deepen as a result of singing together each week.

FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY

WE WILL BE COLLECTING:

Pancake Mix and

Syrup

Wednesday Evening

Adult Bible Study

Prayer and Discussion

7pm in the

Multi-purpose room

Join us for this informal time of Bible

study and discussion.

7pm

WHAT’S GOING ON AT WOODLAWN?

“ANNOUNCING THE LIFE CHANGING

NEWS OF JESUS AS THE CHRIST”

SUNDAY MORNING SERIES

And he said to them, “Go into all the

world and proclaim the gospel to the

whole creation.

Mark 16:15

TRUTH SEEKERS

EVERY TUESDAY 10-11:30am In Multi-Purpose Room

Join us as we seek to know the truth in God’s word. We are working through the book of

Ephesians.

SPECIAL OCCASIONS – JANUARY 2020

❖ Read through the Bible in a year

❖ Read through the New Testament

❖ Read through the Bible Chronologically

❖ Read through Mark

1 JD Whitaker 3 Jaelyn Crum

4 Haiden Swindell 9 Charlene Guffey

12 Michael Minges 16 Terry Collins

16 Dianah Minges 19 Kielynn Palmer

20 Michael McAferty 21 Debbie Calvert

23 Clay Norris 25 Joyce Beatty

27 Tammy Love 27 Gennie McAferty

27 James McKnight 28 Diana Ramsey

11 Willie and Shirley Sutton

6

16 Hildred and Hazel Ford

26 Don and Debbie Trapp

…so you know…

WOODLAWN BAPTIST CHURCH

STAFF

Pastor: Mitch Evans mitch@woodlawnbaptist-lowell.com Worship Minister – Justin Morehead justin@woodlawnbaptist-lowell.com Ministry Assistant: Crystal Watkins

admin@woodlawnbaptist-lowell.com

The WBC Newsletter is a monthly publication for Woodlawn Baptist Church

1101 N. Main St. Lowell, NC 28098

Phone: 704-824-4261

Sunday School is at 9:45am Worship service is at 11:00am

Sunday evening service and activities are at 6:00pm

Wednesday small groups, youth and children’s activities are at 7:00pm

FINANCIAL DIGEST

AS OF November 2019

INCOME YEAR TO DATE

$293,684.15

OFFERING november 2019

$26,801.54

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE

SUNDAY SCHOOL

november 2018- 62

november 2019-89

WORSHIP

november 2018- 124

november 2019- 164

Church Office

Hours

Monday

Thru

Thursday

8am – 4pm

Woodlawn Baptist Church is

happy to allow members to

use our facilities.

We just ask that you complete a “Facilities

Use Form” and give it to the Ministry

Assistant so she can be sure there are no

scheduling conflicts and can add your event

to the church calendar. The “Facilities Use

Forms” are available in the workroom, on

the wall by the copier.

Belize Mission Trip

July 7-15 2020

Belize is a Central American country just a short 3

hour flight from Atlanta. It is located at the southern

end of the Yucatan peninsula bordered by Mexico and

Guatemala. It is a relatively new country as it gained

its independence in 1981 from the British. It was

formerly named British Honduras. Mayan civilization

migrated to this area starting as early as 1500 BC.

European exploration began by English settlers in

1638. Both Spain and England lay claim to the land

until the British defeated Spain in the Battle of St

George’s Caye in 1790. It remained a British colony

until its independence.

It has the lowest population density in that region

with a population of only a little over 400,000 people.

Contrast that to Charlotte which has a population of

850,000. The population is very diverse with many

languages and cultures. The good news for our

missions team is that the official language of Belize is

English. Most Belizians are bilingual and so Spanish is

the second most spoken language, while Belizean

Creole is the most widely spoken language.

Tourism is the mainstay of their economy followed by

crude oil, maritime products, sugar, citrus and

bananas.

Current political concerns include its heavy foreign

debt, high unemployment and increased criminal

activity due to the Mexican and South American drug

trade. The most recent political concern has been the

ongoing border dispute. Guatemala has at times

claimed all or part of Belize. There was a referendum

to determine if Belize would settle the matter in the

International courts. The referendum passed.

The main attractions of Belize to foreign visitors are

its tropical rainforests and associated wildlife, its good

number of highly accessible yet lightly-visited Mayan

ruin sites, and its long barrier reef and associated

small, tropical islands. Actually, this small country

contains a richly varied set of habitats, many of which

will be encountered during your travels

Why Monkey River Village?

I’ve talked a lot about the country of Belize but what

about Monkey River Village (MRV), and why on earth

would we want to do missions there? MRV is a small

village about a 3 hour drive south of Belize City and a

10 min river crossing. MRV is one of the tourist

destinations in Belize noted

MISSIONS

mainly for its eco-rainforest tours and is especially

known for its howler monkeys - hence the name of

the village. At one time the village was the second

most populous town in Belize due to its banana

plantations. Due to the failure of the crop caused by

blight there are only around currently 200 people

living in the village.

As far as the mission trip itself, it is a very easy trip on

the mission trip scale. The village has hotels for our

accommodations. It has running water and electricity.

A/C is even available if needed. You will not be

sleeping in tents under mosquito nets.

As fun and easy as it sounds, MRV is on the front lines

of the battle for Kingdom expansion. A town with no

church is a flag in the ground for Satan and in that

sense, is spiritually perilous.

Missions at Woodlawn is interested in Kingdom

expansion that brings joy to the Father. Currently in

MRV there is no church in any capacity. There is an

influence of Seventh Day Adventism, Catholisim and

Voodoo, however no particular religion is currently

practiced. They are what they currently are, which is a

secular people. The missions team wants to bring

them the gospel message that Jesus died for you.

There have been some successes over the years with

a handful of people coming to profess faith. Last year,

our main mission was to teach what it means for

those believers to become a church. We had many

activities to help spread the gospel including

evangelism, VBS, a village wide soccer game and

“light” construction We will continue those efforts

this year and also concentrate on building deeper

relationships with those in the village.

Join Us

If you would be interested in joining us on a week

long mission trip on July 7th - 15th to

Monkey River Village in Belize, please attend our next

meeting on Jan 26th. Contact Tom Botts, Tony

Watkins or Pastor Mitch for details.

Pates in Brazil Update:

In their last update for 2019, the Pates shared a video

of what Christmas is like in Brazil. They talked about

how traditions, weather, and the food were all

different to how we celebrate Christmas in America..

Check out their youtube channel and subscribe to get

their latest updates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PqpniRlkuI

Upcoming Mission Events

Dec/Jan: Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for

International Missions

Jan 26: Belize Missions Meeting

"The Great Commission is not an option to be

considered; it is a command to be obeyed" - Hudson

Taylor

Your deacons on duty for

JANUARY

Jon Calvert and Willie Sutton

2019-2020 Deacon Family and Ministry Assignment

Tom Botts – A – Bok Missions, Website

Don Trapp – Bol – Cov Building and Grounds, Prayer Ministry

Jonathan Grant – Cow – Fel Recreation, Decorations, Young At Heart

Jon Calvert– Fem – G Audio Visual, Men’s Ministry

Willie Sutton – H – La Finance Team, Women’s Ministry, Food Pantry

Tony Watkins – Lax – M Baptism, Greeters, Security

Scott McCombs – N – Sil Fellowship, Bereavement, Music, Benevolence

Shane Wilders – Sim – T Sunday School, Youth Ministry

Chris Norris – U – Z Children’s Ministry