God’s word tells us in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The Life Application Bible goes on to say God sent Jesus Christ to die for us, not because we were good enough, but because he loved us. Whenever you feel uncertain about God’s love for you, remember that he loved you even before you turned to him. If God loved you when you were a rebel, he can surely strengthen you now that you love him in return.
Psalm 118.24 tells us, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” There are days when the last thing we want to do is rejoice. Our mood is down, our situation is out of hand, and our sorrow or guilt is overwhelming. We can relate to the writers of the Psalms who often felt this way. But no matter how low the psalmists felt, they were always honest with God. And as they talked to God, their prayers ended in praise. When you don’t feel like rejoicing, tell God how you truly feel. You will find that God will give you a reason to rejoice. God has given you this day to live and serve him, be glad.
 Village Baptist Church Men’s Ministry 2007 in review:
Accomplishments:
- Supported Men’s Ministry event at First Baptist of Royal Palm Beach
- Completed the following Bible Studies; Fresh Encounter God’s Pattern for Revival, Spiritual Awakening by Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King, 7 Promises of a Promise Keeper, Unleashing Your Heart (a six week study of a Band of Brothers), In His Grip, and completed several PK Marathon Video Journal Series Topics
- Attended the local movie opening of Amazing Grace
- Supported Pastor Joe in birthing a Promise Keeper group in Lantana
- Developed Men’s Ministry Brochure
- Attended Men’s Outreach Breakfast at the Kravis Center sponsored by The Gathering of Palm Beach County. Eric Alexander (the mountain climber) was the featured speaker.
- Featured Jim Howard as a guest speaker from The Voice of the Martyrs
- Attended Promise Keeper conference in Orlando
- Participated in Project Norman
- Held our 2nd Annual Golf Tournament with 26 participants
- Praised God for the 1 year anniversary of Ray’s Blog
- Participated in Iron Sharpens Iron conference at First Baptist of Tequesta. I was one of the presenters and facilitated a seminar on “How to Build a Sustainable Men’s Ministry.
- Incorporated Christian Humor DVDs into our weekly meetings
- Attended Promise Keeper Ambassador Training in Vero Beach
- Conducted Promise Keeper Ambassador Training at VBC
- Participated in PK Adventure in Ft. Lauderdale
- Prison Ministry Project – Provided postage stamps for inmates to mail letters to loved ones.
- Served Seniors at scheduled monthly dinners
- Participated in monthly food ministry at Village Baptist Church
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VBC Men’s Ministry: Plans for 2008
- Assign each small group member a month of the year to pray for our Pastor.
- Continue with weekly Bible Studies. Add Tony Dungy’s new Bible study to our selections.
- Serve seniors more. Identify a family a month that we will serve. Partner with the deacon family care group and the senior council.
- Partner with the youth pastor at VBC in mentoring kids. Need to do more outreach. Look at working with a local detention center to do some mentoring. These kids are about to be released. Brother Ted will take the lead on this project.
- Partner with the Gathering of Palm Beach County on a mutually beneficial men’s ministry outreach.
- Partner with Taskforce 318 from Miami to hold a men’s conference in September.
- Hold 3rd annual golf tournament during the spring
- Bring back Jim Howard from The Voice of the Martyrs
- Attend Iron Sharpens conference in Hollywood in March. Tony Evans will be the featured speaker.
- Conduct Florida Men of Integrity (FMI) leadership training
- Attend Bill McCartney luncheon in Ft. Lauderdale
PKAdventure: PKAdventure is a 90 minute cinematic experience fueled with the excitement and energy of the larger events. The local theater setting allows for greater development of fellowship, networking and relationships. These events will serve as gathering points throughout the year to help encourage and inspire men to engage their faith in their local spheres of influence.
The PKAdventure program is designed specifically for our local community.
http://www.promisekeepers.org/pkadventure Promise Keepers decided they needed to adapt to the lifestyles of men today. The program is designed to bring the intensity and encouragement of their national conferences closer to where men live. Three programs are being planned in our area. One in Ft. Lauderdale, one in Jensen Beach, and one in the West Palm Beach area. I will be leading the team in the West Palm Beach area. Plans are already underway. Please keep checking the Blog for specific time and location. Although the date has been set for April 12th, we are still in the process of confirming the venue. After the showing of the morning event (8am-9:15am), men will have the opportunity to participate in a community service project.
Savannah Court Ministry – The baton has been passed to my wife Dorothy and me to lead the worship service at Savannah Court, a nursing home/assisted living facility. The message will be provided on a rotational basis by the men of the Village Baptist Church.
Power Team – Praise the Lord for what he has done during the Power Team crusade. 330 came forward, 107 accepted Christ, 128 recommitted their lives to Christ, 29 asked for baptism, and more than 2600 were ministered to. Today, February 3 in our morning service, we baptized 7 new believers. We will continue our follow up utilizing the FAITH evangelism model.
 Don’t forget about the upcoming Iron Sharpens Iron conferences in Jacksonville and Hollywood in February and March. www.ironsharpensiron.net. Amen.
- Ray Adams
Rayt242611@bellsouth.net
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