The Son and the Sand – August 2004

The Son & the Sand http://www.barefootbelievers.com – August 2004 Home Again It’s hard to believe that June and July (one of our busiest seasons of the year) are no more. As we look ahead to the month of August, we anticipate another exciting season of ministry. Sadly this next season (part two of summer and part one of fall) will not involve working with our summer missions staff. One week from now all of our summer missionaries will be back at their homes and / or schools again. Heather, Emily, Lisa, Alana, Lindsey, Michelle, Kristen, & Tiffany served in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, Alabama for nine weeks with Gulf Area Resort Ministries. The led over two dozen “one week-er” ministry teams in ministries on the beach and at various campgrounds. Please continue to pray for our summer staffers as they enter another mission field in the fall: their campuses. Thea and I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to serve alongside them. Our recent fellowship outing to New Orleans was a great success. The trip served as a small reward to a hard working crew of summer missionaries. The End Leads to Another Beginning Now that the busiest part of the summer is complete, we look ahead to August. Resort worship services will continue at Gulf State Park, Island Retreat RV, and the Plantation Resort; however, the services at Luxury RV and Gulf Breeze will cease for awhile. We look forward to working with additional volunteer staff in the fall to continually reach out with the gospel at our various ministry sites. Prayer Support I cannot say it enough – we truly appreciate your prayer support. God’s love and grace is the message that the ministry and its many volunteers and prayer partners seek to carry to Alabama’s gulf coast. We simply could not be effective without your wonderful prayer support. Here are a few prayer points to remember this month: – Associational RA camp at Camp Baldwin (I will get an opportunity to share with the children at this camp about the resort ministry and the creative ways that we are able to share the gospel on the beaches and campgrounds in Gulf Shores) Please pray that the children would be encouraged and my time would them would result in a deeper interest in missions. – The summer missionaries & their adjustment to life away from the beach – Please pray for the summer staff as they adjust to life back at home or school. – School is back in session – Thea will be starting her fifth year at Foley High School as a history teacher. Please pray for her as she experiences the joys and challenges of teaching. – Baptist Campus Ministries – Many of you may recall my involvement in the BCM at Faulkner State last year. This month Joe Friman will be begin working with Faulkner as campus minister. Please pray for Joe as he works in Bay Minette, Kevin Hamlin at Fairhope, and for me as I continue to work with students at the Gulf Shores campus. – Eeeek it’s Greek! – Please pray for me as I continue my seminary studies in Pensacola, Florida at the NOBTS extension center. I am a little nervous about my Greek class, but I am sure God will see me through. He always does. – 2004 Shrimp Fest – Thea and I continue to prepare and recruit volunteers for the 2004 Shrimp Festival. Pray for us as we make these preparations. If you are interested in volunteering at the Children’s Art Village, give me a call today. Thanks. – It’s never to early to get ready for our busy seasons – Of course we are always in prep mode for upcoming ministry partnerships, events, and our next season: Snowbird season unofficially begins in October, Spring Break and Summer 2005 calendars can begin being constructed this month as well. – August mission teams – Even though it seems like public school starts earlier every year, we will be partnering with several mission teams this month. We appreciate your prayers and the variety of ways you encourage us in our ministry efforts. – Resort Worship – Some of our services in the campgrounds are year round. We pray that God would prick the heart of a camper, usher them into a resort worship service each Sunday, and there our guest would find encouragement, grace, and His love. Statistical Review from the summer of 2004 Yes, this heading sounds quite boring, but it’s really not. Just imagine how many words of encouragement and gospel presentations we were able to give with the help of these folks: MAY 24-28 BELLVUE BAPTIST CHURCH – GADSDEN, AL JUNE 1-4 FBC DECATUR, AL JUNE 4 FBC HAMPTON, HAMPTON, GA JUNE 5-12 FBC HOUSTON – HOUSTON, MO JUNE 6-12 GARDEN LAKES BAPTIST – ROME, GA JUNE 6-9 BLYTHE ISLAND BAPTIST – BRUNSWICK, GA JUNE 8-10 RIVERCHASE BAPTIST CHURCH – BIRMINGHAM, AL JUNE 13-17 MUNFORD BAPTIST CHURCH – MUNFORD, AL JUNE 15-16 LIVING HOPE BAPTIST – BOWLING GREEN, KY JUNE 19-26 DWIGHT BAPTIST – GADSDEN, AL JUNE 20-25 THELMA BAPTIST – WETUMPKA, AL JUNE 26 KREOLE AVENUE BAPTIST – MOSS POINTE, MS JUNE 26-JULY 2 LAKEVIEW BAPTIST – SOUTHSIDE, AL JUNE 28-JULY 2 JUBILEE BAPTIST – DAPHNE, AL JULY 3-5 NEW HAVEN BAPTIST – NEW HAVEN, MICHIGAN JULY 3-9 2ND BAPTIST CHURCH – FORT PAYNE, AL JULY 3-9 ENON BAPTIST CHURCH – FRANKLINTON, LA JULY 8-11 PADEN BAPTIST CHURCH – GADSDEN, AL JULY 11-17 EASTABOGA BAPTIST – EASTABOOGA, AL JULY 12 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF DAWES, MOBILE, AL JULY 12-13 LEXA BAPTIST CHURCH – LEXA, AR JULY 16-18 ELKDALE BAPTIST CHURCH – SELMA, AL JULY 19-23 WOODRIDGE BAPTIST CHURCH – SHREVEPORT, LA JULY 24-30 FBC TIFTON – TIFTON, GA JULY 25-30 PLESANT MOUNT BAPTIST, BLOUNT CO., AL AUGUST 1-4 BETHLEHEM BAPTIST – CUNNINGHAM, KY That’s a total of nearly 700 students and adults on mission with the Gulf Area Resort Ministries’ staff reaching out to thousands of gulf coast visitors and residents with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I would say that is pretty exciting stuff. Beyond these churches, we also include the churches of the Baldwin Baptist Association and so many other churches and individuals that contribute to our ministry efforts through prayer support and cooperative program giving. One Last Thing: Matthew 14:28-31 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him… God is watching us, God is watching us from a distance…a beautiful song, but not entirely true. Bette Midler got it wrong. Although we serve a God who is in heaven above. He is the glorious God that embodies the unseen realms of heaven, and the furthest depth of the universe. God is here. God is now. Reaching out his hand to you. He is in the midst of all the chaos and all the crisis that we experience. God is in the trenches of life with us. He shows us this through the life of his Son, Jesus. He wants to rescue us from the messes we often make in our lives. He wants to be our lifeguard just like he was for Peter in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 14.