We just exited an exciting 16-week sermon series in which we dug deep into God’s Word and really explored what it means to be a people on a mission. But we still have people to see…places to go…and study/work to be done! Below you will find our NEW sermon series schedule for the next twelve months:

Sunday, November 30 – BMM Missionary, Andy Scott

Sunday, December 7 – The Promise of His Coming

Sunday, December 14 – The Problems Surrounding His Coming

Sunday, December 21 – The Praise at His Coming

Sunday, December 28 – The Prayers After His Coming

Sunday, January 4 – IRBC Spotlight, Jason Reynolds

Sunday, January 11 – BMM Missionary, Rick Fessel

Sunday, January 18 – Sunday, May 31 – Launching of a 16-week sermon series entitled, “Our Vision: Defining the Dream”…
This will primarily be a book study through the book of Nehemiah. Also, please be advised, we will have four distinct Sundays (i.e. Feb. 8, May 10, May 17, and May 24) where we will suspend our current sermon series in order to accommodate for two missionary speakers and our very own pastoral intern, Jon Rocha!

June 2015 – August 2015 – Launching of our summer sermon series entitled, “Doctrine: What Really Matters”.
Here we will explore the ten major doctrines of Scripture and come to terms with what is truly important in the Christian life.

September 2015 – November 2015 – I am in prayer over two possible concepts…either a sermon series on some of the most pivotal chapters in the Bible (i.e. Genesis 1-11) or a fall series entitled, “Flannel Graph Christianity: Demolishing Your Childhood Fantasy”…
The second option (i.e. Flannel Graph Christianity) would be a sermon series on some of the most popular stories in the Bible (i.e. the stories we tell our children in Sunday School). In this series, we would tell the real (raw, unedited) version of each of these real life stories and demonstrate that the Bible is NOT a book of fairy tales and fables, but it presents real, raw material that challenges the heart AND mind!

December 2015 – In this season of advent, we will explore ramifications of the incarnation to our real lives today!

A Quick Word on Our Sermon Series and Winter Cancellations:

Winter is upon us! Inevitably, there will be certain Sundays where we will have to cancel church services because of the weather. However, the sermon series must go on! Thus, if we have a cancellation of services, I will be preaching to a faceless congregation on the Monday or Tuesday after the Sunday cancellation. That is to say, we will post the next sermon in our series online and via the app for you to listen to during that particular week. Therefore, the next time we meet together, we will pick up with the very next sermon in our series and keep moving forward without skipping a beat.

Prairie Flower, let this schedule encourage you. Yes, God is sovereign and He can intervene and change these plans at any time, but that does not negate my responsibility as pastor-teacher to plan and lead the way into the future. Please be in prayer for me, for you, and for our church at large. Also, please invite your friends and family to the services here…the gospel will always be on full display and we would LOVE to have them here. May God be glorified as we learn and grow together in 2015!

After a thorough nominating and election process, we are pleased to announce your 2015 officer nominees:

For the position of Deacon:

Klint Gingerich
Mark Tinnes
Brian Wilson

For the position of Clerk:

Mike York

For the position of Financial Secretary:

Steve Donnolly

For the position of Treasurer:

Duane Davis

For the position of Sunday School Superintendent:

Mark Tinnes

*Please Note: In general, we only considered nominees who got over 10% of the total nominations received. After this consideration, we then began the process of evaluating nominees based upon biblical and practical concerns.

The Annual Election of Officers will be held on Sunday, December 7, immediately following the morning worship service. The vote will be held by secret ballot. All elected officers will then take office on January 1, 2015. Please be in prayer concerning the vote and for God’s will to be done!

In preparation for our massive 16-week sermon series on “Our Vision: Defining the Dream!” (launching Jan. 18th) I was convicted, challenged, and encouraged by this most recent blog post by Dr. Paul David Tripp:

http://www.paultripp.com/articles/posts/dreams-have-direction

Please read this article and then passionately pray to our great God for help and awareness. And remember…”Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). I love you, Prairie Flower…and I want to dream “vertical dreams” with you!

– Vision. Mission. Grace.

At Prairie Flower Baptist Church we pride ourselves in our commitment to excellence, discipline, and precision. That is why we do not simply throw together youth group activities without prior planning. Each scheduled activity is fueled by fun and has as its’ aim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Below you will find our list of proposed youth group activities for the next seven months:

Saturday, November 22 – Faith Baptist Bible College Basketball Game
Cost – $10 for food

Sunday, December 07 – Christmas Party at Church
Cost – $5 for a white elephant gift

Friday, January 16 – Sunday, January 18 – Winter Meltdown at IRBC
Cost – $60 for weekend

Sunday, February 15 – Movie/Game Night at Church
Cost – FREE!

Friday, March 27 – Saturday, March 28 – Teen Lock-In
Cost – $20 for night

Thursday, April 16 – Saturday, April 18 – Faith Baptist Bible College Leadership Summit (Sr. High Only)
Cost – $60 if pre-registered by April 1st OR $65 if registered after April 1st

TBD – MAY Gym Night
Cost – TBD

*This list was generated so that you, as a parent, can plan and budget appropriately.

A big thank you goes to our pastoral intern, Jon Rocha, and all his hard work in coordinating these fun, gospel-centric activities for our teens!

This Monday, November 10, marks my first full year as the Lead Pastor at Prairie Flower Baptist Church. In other words, I have survived my first full year in the ministry! I am so very grateful and thankful to be the pastor of such a vibrant, growing flock. We have accomplished much this past year, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in the next year.

So…what have I learned in my first year as a pastor? Answer: Many things and below is a snapshot of some of the major lessons I learned this past year:

1) God is incredibly merciful. Friends, it is significantly easier to preach a sermon than to live a sermon. Practicing what I preach has been (and will probably continue to be) one of the most challenging aspects of my public ministry. Don’t get me wrong…I love God’s Word…I love the privilege I have to study it each week and to explain it each Sunday, but living these truths in the Monday through Saturday of my real life is difficult. I have stumbled and fallen many times this past year…that is why I am so thankful for grace and mercy!

2) People love communication. I have learned that you can never over-communicate. In fact, people remember most what you repeat most. This is especially true in the context of a non-profit organization. People love to be in the loop. One phone call…one blog post…one announcement…or one message is hardly sufficient for people with busy lives. They need active, efficient information that is communicated in a variety of different ways. I have learned that an informed people are a happy people – at least most of the time.

3) I desperately need my wife. The Bible states in Proverbs 12:4a, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband.” So true. There have been many moments this past year where I have felt defeated or depressed, but my wife has always been right there…ready, willing, and able to lift up my head and to point me in the direction of Jesus Christ and the Cross of Grace. She has kept me grounded and humble, always reminding me that preachers, like everyone else, need rest and fun too. She smiles when I preach about Jesus, but I do believe her heart sings when I start to look like Him as well. I can honestly say that I understand our great God better because of the love and support of my wife. I have learned that preaching God’s word every week is an incredible joy, pastoring a growing church is exhilarating, but having a good wife in the ministry is priceless.

4) Fear dominates my heart. This is perhaps the most sobering reality that I have learned about myself this past year. That is to say, I am dominated by fear of man. I truly fear what people think of me. Will they like me? Will they accept me? Thus, I become almost petrified with any little criticism or negative comment that comes my way. This is wrong…this is sin…but it’s true nonetheless. Yes, I have made this a matter of prayer, but this is something I battle nearly every day in the ministry. And let me say this…if you are looking for everyone to like you in life, don’t go into the ministry – don’t pursue a leadership role. I have learned that there is no secret to success, but a surefire way to fail is to try to please everybody…this is simply impossible. I have made Galatians 1:10 my prayer this past year, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” I have learned that there will always be critics…there are always unhappy, disgruntled congregants, but at the end of the day…I seek to please Christ, not men!

Well, there you have it. Four lessons learned in one exhilarating/exhausting year. And yes, God has been so good. He has proven to be so faithful…and I long to continue to serve Him and Prairie Flower Baptist Church for many years to come. I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know who holds the future…and that, my dear friends, provides comfort.