Preparations for YEC - see below, under March
	Sunday School — every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. During February, they are studying the book of James.
	Bible Study — 6:30 to 7:30 every Wednesday Night. Youth can attend the Fellowship Meal at 5:45 p.m. except during the summer months when it is suspended. During February, they are studying the book of Colossians, except 2/7, which will be devoted to Biblical Creation. Parents are welcome to come anytime.
	February 4   — Super Bowl Party at the Baldwin home, 1 p.m.  Get more information in class Sunday.
	February 11 — Youth Lunch, 12:30 p.m. at Terri & William's home.
	February 17 — The Youth will be putting an a formal Valentine's dinner for the adults of the church.

	YEC (Youth Evangelism Conference) . This happens March 16 and 17, at Muldoon Baptist Church in Anchorage, but our group will be driving down on March 14. Registration for our kids is due February 25, in order to get the registrations to Anchorage in time to order t-shirts which come with early registration. Pick up a registration form from Raymond, any Sunday. We still need a few chaperones.
	Sunday School — every Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
	Bible Study — 6:30 to 7:30 every Wednesday Night. Youth can attend the Fellowship Meal at 5:45 p.m. except during the summer months when it is suspended. Parents are welcome to come anytime.
	March 11 — Youth Lunch, 12:30 p.m. Location TBA.

5th Sundays:

No Children's Church to allow children to attend church with their parents and let those who are Christians observe the Lord's Supper.

11/98 Terri Beach, Sunday School Director

If you are like most American families, November brings forth thoughts of Thanksgiving. History tells us that Thanksgiving Day originated from a celebration by the settlers who came over on the Mayflower. The end of November for these colonists was a time to celebrate and give thanks to God for the wonderful bounty they received from their harvest. Indeed they had much to be thankful for. The previous winter saw half the settlers die from starvation or from common diseases they could not resist due to lack of nourishment. After the end of their first winter all they had to show was numerous graves and a spirit of great discouragement. When the crop was pulled in during November, settlers finally had hope of survival for the first time since they landed in the new world. What better response than to praise and thank God for such a bountiful blessing.

So, what has God done for or given you this past year? Maybe, like the first settlers, He has provided the very basics like food and shelter. Maybe He provided the money needed for repairs to your car or necessary clothing. Maybe what God has given hasn't been physical needs but emotional or spiritual. Has He taught you more about how to be a Godly wife or husband, father or mother, friend or servant? Has He helped you grow emotionally or spiritually this past year? Whatever He has done did you take time to praise and thank Him for doing it?

It could be that at this time you might be struggling to answer what God has done for you. As Christian author Barbara Johnson writes, you might be still in the "black tunnel". So many things have not gone well this last year and you might feel pressed down on all sides. You can't see the end of the tunnel nor can you find God. You might not feel like giving thanks for much at all. Keep in mind, you might not see the end and you might not see God but He is there and He can see the way through.

One of the things I am extremely grateful for is that God has never given up on me. I may fail him time and time again. I may resist going where He leads. I may take matters into my own hands instead of relying on Him. I may even fail to spend time with God in a daily way. But, He never fails me and never gives up on me. He is always willing to continue the good work He began in me when I first accepted Him as my Savior and Lord. Regardless of what has happened, or not happened, in my life I can always say I am thankful for my Lord. I am thankful He sent His son to die on a cross for my sins so I can have a relationship with the Creator. Yet how many people in our country, in our own family, aren't thankful for that because they don't have a relationship with the Creator? If we are truly thankful for the sacrifice Christ made for us then we must be willing to share our salvation with others. What better way to show God our thankfulness than to share the gospel with those who don't know Christ so that next year at this time they might be able to say they are thankful for their relationship with the Creator? I pray that we will all be willing to share the gospel with at least one person this coming year.

9/98 Terri Beach, Sunday School Director

I have been sitting in front of my computer for some time attempting to write a newsletter article. I have begun at least five different articles only to delete them. I would like my articles to be uplifting and challenging but I have been unable to produce that kind of article. The reason for that is because I am greatly troubled by what I see in Sunday School. What I see is a stagnate program. Every year the nominating committee struggles to find teachers for Sunday School classes. Every year the same classes are offered. We make small changes in an attempt to bring more people to Sunday School. The fact remains that our attendance and involvement in Sunday School has remained the same for far too long.

Recently I began reading a book called Evangelism Through the Sunday School: A Journey of FAITH by Bobby H. Welch. Mr. Welch revealed some disturbing statistics. Between 1980 and 1996 the U.S. population has increased by 15%. Sunday School attendance has increased only 3%. Southern Baptist Baptisms are down by 12%. Mr. Welch says "Sunday School attendance and baptisms are not all that happens in our churches, but they have always been the primary indicators of church health. When those areas of ministry "flat line" or begin to decline, a church's days are numbered, usually without exception." He equates a church that does not have growth in these areas to a person whose heart has stopped, or "flat lined".

 I don't share this to be discouraging. Rather it is a wake up call. We are blessed with a pastor who has a great desire and determination to see our church revived by evangelism. Pastor Tom has put an abundance of time, energy and prayer into his effort to motivate all of us to be evangelists, sharing the love of Christ with the people in our lives. In ten years do you want our church to look like it does today? Do we want to still be offering the same Sunday School classes? Do we still want to be struggling to find teachers to teach classes where there is less than an average 50% attendance. Do we want Sunday School classes that have only four or six people enrolled? Do we want a list of inactive Sunday School members that has more than 40 people on it? I don't. I want a Sunday School that is growing and thriving. The only way to accomplish this is to make a personal commitment to be involved in evangelism. I am committed to this. It is my goal and prayer to lead our Sunday School program into the world of evangelism. But, as the saying goes, I am not leading anywhere if no one is following. Are you ready to go on a journey of faith and learn to evangelize through your Sunday School class? I pray that you are.

8/98 Terri Beach, Sunday School Director

This year I arrived at one of those milestone birthdays; I moved into a new decade. Although I don’t feel the least bit old, I have spent some time reflecting on the past. I have had many of those "I can’t believe I am old enough to remember that" thoughts. As I reflected, I realized that I had been attending University Baptist Church for ten years.

When I first came to UBC, I had been a Christian for two and a half years. I had been to a few Bible studies with some Christian friends. Several friends had tried to get met to attend church and I did sporadically. Yet I never felt as if I had belonged in any of those Bible studies or churches.

Then one day a new friend who lived in my dorm found out that I hadn’t been to church in a while and literally dragged me out of my dorm room to come to University Baptist one Sunday night. There I met people who would become close friends. And I met many of them in Sunday School. It was in a Sunday School class that I was able to get to know many of these people. We would meet every week for Bible study during the Sunday School hour. From there we began to have picnics, bike rides and various other fun activities. I had been made to feel so welcomed and cared for by the teachers and the members of my Sunday School class, an experience that I hadn’t had at any other Bible study or church.

And I began to grow in my faith in a way I had never done. For the first time, I was really learning the Bible. I was learning how God was unfolding his plan for humanity from the very beginning of time. I was learning what God expected of me as one of His children. And I was learning about how great God’s love for me really was. By being faithful to Sunday School, I was getting more than just snapshots of God. I was learning about His true nature.

As I look to the next church year and try to establish some goals for our Sunday School program, I remember my first experience in Sunday School. It is my ardent prayer that everyone who comes to our church may experience what I did when I first began attending Sunday School. Sunday School is a vital time to learn what the Bible has to teach us about living daily for Christ. We cannot live a life of example to non-Christians if we don’t diligently study the word of God. We cannot grow towards spiritual maturity if we are not faithful in Bible study.

But Sunday School is so much more than Bible study. It should be a place where people feel welcomed and cared for. It is an opportunity to form close friendships with other Christians; friendships that can be a source of great strength through troubled times. Sunday school should be a place where people can go when they need someone to minister to them.

Sunday School should also be an opportunity to minister. Sunday School teachers have the opportunity to share knowledge and wisdom about what the word of God teaches. It is also an opportunity for every Christian to express love and support to anyone who attends. It is an opportunity to make everyone who comes feel like they are a vital part of the family of God, cherished and loved by the Creator and by God’s people.

The new church year is approaching and it is a perfect time to think about how you will serve in Sunday School. Maybe the first step is for you to become involved in a Sunday School class, making a commitment to be present every Sunday to learn and grow. If you want to grow consistently in your faith you must be consistent in your Bible study.

Maybe you have the ability to teach a class. Or you may already be a faithful member of a Sunday School class who doesn’t feel called to teach. There are many others ways to minister in Sunday School.

	You could organize some fellowships for your class. Fellowships provide the time to get to know your classmates better.
	You could take the task of getting names and addresses of anyone who visits your class and send a friendly note to them during the week. People are much more likely to visit again if someone contacts them by a note or by phone after they visit.
	You could be an encourager to your teacher. Sometimes the job of being ready to teach every week can be discouraging. Plan to let your teacher know throughout the year how much you appreciate their faithfulness and hard work.
	You could make a commitment to pray every day for the members of your class. Prayer is what moves God to work in all of our lives.

A thriving, growing Sunday School class just doesn’t happen. It takes consistent and planned effort on the part of the teacher and the class members. My challenge to you is for you to set a personal goal of how you will make your Sunday School class better than last year. Be faithful in your attendance. And find a way to minister to the people in your class. If we all make a commitment to minister in Sunday School and to grow in our knowledge and faith our church will be a thriving place for the spirit of God to work.