New Venue for Student Ministry this Fall 2012

     You may know that our student building (West Ed) was hit hardest by the hailstorm earlier this year.  The storm affected the building's ACs, roof, flooring, and other areas, to the extent that our students have not been able to use it since April.  At this point, we do not know when the West Ed building will be ready for use again, (if it will at all).  Our students have temporarily used parts of the multi-purpose building and the Family Life Center (Gym).  The summer schedule of activities allowed for a flexible use of facilities.  Nevertheless as the school year approaches and all our church programs ramp up to full gear, it will be important for the students to have a place to call their own while the issues with the West Ed building get resolved.
     The best solution at this time is that the Family Life Center (Gym) become the primary meeting place for our students.  This means using the Family Life Center (Gym) for “Remedy” worship service on Wednesday nights and the upstairs classrooms in the same building on Sunday mornings.  This will not be the most ideal "long-term" solution for our students but it will be adequate enough for a semester, or perhaps even a year.  The costs related to making this happen do not compare to the rental of portable buildings or of existing space off campus.
     The pastors and other staff are supportive of this plan and are working to make it happen.  The plan has also been shared with the stewardship committee, building and grounds committee, and the Coordinating Council as things are developing and details are being worked out.
     We are so grateful for our student ministry.  Great things are happening there with students who are either growing as disciples of Christ or exploring faith, dedicated volunteers, and the leadership of Pastor Marcus.  We want to continue to pray and support this important ministry in our church.
     We trust that God will provide for all of the needs in our church and that our church family will be supportive in a transition time like this.  These changes may cause some of us to be a bit uncomfortable and they may also require some financial cost.  But neither of these compare to the great investment of loving our students and communicating to them that they are important to our church.  Please help us by promoting support for our student ministry and the adjustments that are being made in the next couple of weeks.

Hats Off to "Calvary Cutters"

     Everyday as I drive up to my church office, I thank God for our church campus.  The elegant buildings that stand out in the midst of our community are a reminder of God's goodness and faithfulness.  When I see the large green lawn areas, I remember the volunteers who each week offer their strength and sweat to make them look nice and I thank God for them.  This group calls themselves the "Calvary Cutters."

     There are many ways in which church members demonstrate their love for God and for Calvary.  Some serve as teachers, deacons, ushers, committee members or ministry leaders.  We are so grateful for the great army of volunteers God has given us at Calvary.

     “Calvary Cutters" started its ministry over two years ago and their task is to keep our lawns looking nice and trimmed each week.  Each week these volunteers mow our grass, trim the edges and make sure our sprinkler system is working properly, thus saving the church thousands of dollars each year in landscape maintenance.  If you happen to drive by the church property on a Friday evening or early Saturday morning you will most likely see Ron Corbett, Lee Thalman and young Michael De Los Santos mowing the grass while David De Los Santos and David Cross take care of the trimming.  Danny Sosebee checks the sprinklers regularly.  When you see these men, please make sure to express your appreciation for their faithful work.  They are not looking for recognition but we do appreciate them.   You might even consider volunteering to help them on occasion.

     Having nice facilities, attractive lawns and dedicated volunteers are blessings that allow us to serve our church and community with the message of Christ.

Vans and Buildings

I would like to report to you on two items that have to do with church vans and buildings:

1. Calvary is getting new vans!  You may know that Calvary has had two 15-passenger buses and a cargo van for several years.  All three of these vehicles had been having mechanical problems.  The buses were used for group trips but after repeated mechanical problems, we decided to only use them for trips within the Valley.  The cargo van was used mostly for our “Bread of Life” ministry food pick up from the food bank but had been unreliable the last couple of months.  When the hailstorm came through back in the spring all three vehicles were damaged by the hail.  The insurance company totaled our cargo van and gave us money to repair the buses.  As we discussed this situation with our stewardship committee, the committee decided to sell the buses without repairing them and use the insurance money to purchase two new 15-passenger vans.  The committee also approved an additional amount of money for this transaction.  These vans will allow our ministries to be able to make their local and long-distance trips in more reliable vehicles and will also provide reliability to our food ministry pick-up.  The new vans should arrive within a week or so.  As you see these new vans on our campus, take time to thank God for his provision!
2. As you may already know, our Children’s building loan has been paid-off.  (We will have a celebration about this soon).  Therefore, in the bulletin you will no longer see a line labeled “Children’s Building Loan Balance.”  However, since there are people who are still giving to the building fund and since our budget has a designation for the building fund, we will now be reporting our “Building Fund Balance.”  This will reflect an accumulation of gifts for a building fund.  According to our long-range plans the next building that needs to be constructed is the Student Ministry Building.  No plans have been put in place for when this will happen yet.  In the meantime, we will report to you how much is coming in for this fund.  We will also keep you posted as to other developments regarding conversations about our future building projects.

Above all, your prayers for the continuing ministry at Calvary are greatly appreciated.

Grateful for Three Big Reasons this Week!

Preachers are known for doing everything in three-point outlines.  Surely not everything in life is given in three points.  Surely not all of God's revelation comes with three points and a story.  But sometimes it is so!  This week I am grateful for three reasons: (1) the appreciation I feel at my two-year anniversary as pastor; (2) Calvary's 55th anniversary as a church; and (3) the debt retirement of our children's building.


First, I would like to express my appreciation to the congregation for your expression of support as I completed my 2^nd year as your Lead Pastor.  I thank God for the privilege of serving you in that capacity.  I have felt the love and support of the congregation and I count myself blessed to be part of what God is doing in this precious church.  I am especially honored to be a part of such a great heritage.


Secondly, this week Calvary Baptist Church celebrates 55 years since its establishment.  Two dates are of special significance in regard to when this church was founded:

1.     On Monday, July 15, 1957 an organizational meeting took place at David Crockett Public School on North Main Street where 71 people entered into covenant to form Calvary Baptist Church, McAllen;

2.     On Sunday, July 21, 1957 Calvary celebrated her first worship service, also at the David Crocket Public School.  The charter was left open that Sunday so that others attending that worship service could join the founders group.  Thus, the list of original charter members consists of 143 people. 

So whether we celebrate the organizational meeting or the first worship service, or both, this week is Calvary’s 55th anniversary!  We are blessed to be a part of a church whose stated purpose from the beginning was to be evangelistic and missionary.

Fifty-five years later, with 1,235 active members on roll and an average attendance of 896 we continue to reach people in the McAllen area through our English and Spanish ministries, to sponsor the congregation in Sullivan City, support the BSM ministry at the UTPA campus, directly provide support to about 12 missionaries around the world, to have our members directly involved in Chiapas, the Amazon Basin and Kenya, contribute to the local association and the Cooperative Program, (among several other ministries), resulting in giving over 18% of our budget income for mission causes in addition to special mission offerings.  What God started, he continues to use and prosper!

Thirdly, thanks to the generosity and to the faithfulness of contributors who have been giving to the building fund, Calvary will be debt free in a matter of days!  About eight years ago our church went into a building campaign for a new children’s building.  Our people made pledges for this purpose and began giving toward it in 2004.  The approximate cost of the children's building and multi-purpose wing was $4.3 million.  After construction was completed, our church arranged long-term financing with the Baptist Church Loan Corporation for the amount of $950,000 back in 2008.  This week we will send our last payment, made possible by a building fund offering of $200,287 on Sunday July 1.  After eight years of generous giving above and beyond tithes and budget offerings, we are paying off the children's building!

To God be the glory, great things he hath done!

Kenya Mission Trip Blog

This week I want to encourage you to read the blog posts by our Kenya Mission Trip team.  God is using this small team in multiple ways and locations.  As you read, please pray for them, for the work they are doing, the connections they are making, and the partnerships that Calvary will continue to develop with Kenyan ministries.  I encourage you to comment on their blog posts.  (It's easier than commenting on mine!).  


Click below to go to that blog:


http://www.calvarymcallen.org/blogs

Lots to Celebrate

This weekend we are in celebration mode!  This morning's worship services reflected that.


Adventure Week/Family VBS
We had a successful Adventure Week/Family VBS.  In addition to the usual excitement of having children learn about the Bible and worship God, this year we added a component for parents.  Pastor Rolando led the Spanish track and I had the privilege of facilitating the English track.  The parent response was excellent in terms of attendance and participation.  The week ended with a swimming party for the families that attended.  We are so grateful for our staff and volunteer leadership that made this possible, including Pastor Susan and Cheri Huerta, among many others.  We are considering this event the kick-off to a "Summer of the Family."


(Additionally, the week before, our mission-church in Sullivan City celebrated a very successful VBS.  This year was also significant in this annual event for it was the first time in a long time that all of the leadership and volunteer force was local.  After many years of having the leadership and volunteer force come from outside, this is a giant step in the right direction!  We grateful for those that are serving at Primera Iglesia Bautista, Sullivan City, including Raul and Alba San Martin).


Return of the Amazon Trip Group
This last week our group that went on mission to the Amazon Basin returned safely.  After a 24 hour or so delay in Houston, they finally arrived in the Valley.  This morning in our worship services we were able to see the photos of the different places in the Jungle and along the Amazon where our group had an opportunity to minister alongside local leaders.  Activities included evangelism events, baptisms, women conferences and ministry to youth and children among various indigenous people groups.  We also heard the great testimonies of individuals who went on the trip.  We thank God for David and Denise Love and their exceptional leadership.  (We are praying for our team that will leave to Kenya this week and for Tracy Hughes and Pastor Marcus as they lead).


Camp Zephyr
The week before last our students attended Camp at Zephyr where they had a great experience.  We heard testimonies from some of these students.  Some of them made professions of faith.  Others returned committed to serving and living missionally.  We are grateful for this life-changing opportunity, the leadership of our staff and volunteers and the support of our church.  Pastor Marcus, not only led our bus-full of students from Calvary, but also directed the entire week's experience for all students.


Children's Building Loan Balance
The balance of this loan is reported in our bulletin every week.  Although our Building Fund campaign has been officially over for some time, many of our members and other contributors have continued to give regularly to this fund above and beyond their regular tithes and offerings.  Because of such generosity the balance on this loan has slowly been reduced.  In order to increase the pace of this process, the stewardship committee, under the leadership of its chairman, Richard Vaughan, has been allocating additional budget income toward this fund.  You might have noticed that by the end of May we reported that the loan balance went below the $300,000 level!  This was a significant milestone!  Today you might have noticed that the loan balance is now below the $200,000 level!  In one month's time, through the generous giving of our people and the bold leadership of our stewardship committee, the debt has been reduced by about $100,000!


All of these are exciting things that God is doing at Calvary this summer.  We are grateful for your support and for your leadership.  Continue to pray as we follow God's leadership into the future He has in store for Calvary.  May we continue to apply ourselves to His mission and may we be found faithful.

A Letter from Joe Gerault

Pastor Joe Gerault has recently submitted a letter to me and the personnel committee.  He also wrote the following for our "Calvary Life" section in this Sunday's (6-10-12) bulletin:

"It has been my privilege to serve God at Calvary for almost 19 years.  God has shown many times over the years that He has His hand on this church and is using it for His Kingdom work.  As a church, we have been blessed to join with God in making a global impact in so many areas.

It has been a joy to remain in this one church for over half of the years that I have been serving God in ministry.  I tell folks that I have served in about five or so churches in the past 19 years, and I’ve never moved.  It has been awesome to watch how God has guided our church according to His purposes over the years.

As the symptoms of Ataxia have progressed, the Pastor and the Personnel Committee have graciously allowed me the flexibility and support to go half-time, then to one quarter time.  However, the time has now come that I need to end my years on the paid staff of the church, effective at the first week of July.

Calvary Baptist Church is still our church and we are still fully committed to serving and worshipping here in the days ahead.  As far as God has shown us in His plan for our lives, Janet and I do not have plans to move from the Valley.  So you’ll still see me around Calvary.  I just won’t be serving on staff. So, if you need a room unlocked, copies made, or a toilet is running, all I’ll be able to do is offer my sympathy!

Thank you again for the gift of serving the Lord at Calvary."

Joe Gerault

I have observed and admired Dr. Gerault's character and spirit in dealing with Ataxia.  Not many of us could deal with such physical challenges in the gracious way in which Joe has.  I regret that Ataxia will not allow Pastor Joe to continue serving on church staff.  But I know that God will continue to use Joe to be a blessing to our church and to many people around him.  His example, his prayers and his wisdom are of much value.

We are grateful for 19 years of ministry at Calvary.  That is a rare thing in today's world!  I know that throughout these 19 years, he has touched many lives and has loyally supported three different Senior Pastors in their particular visions and leadership styles.  Since his last Sunday as part of our church staff will be July 8th, we will have a special time of prayer during our worship services for him.  (Remember, he is not leaving Calvary but stepping down from his role in the pastoral staff).

We are not necessarily asking for a love offering for Pastor Joe (per his request).  However, if people feel led to give an offering, he has asked that they give toward the Children's Building Loan as an expression of their gratitude.