december 2011 newsletter
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newsletterTRANSCRIPT
The Clarion
You can download a registration form at www.iesba.org under events on the homepage
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Associate Director of Missions Claudio Medina
Bruce Hitchcock Church Growth Strategist
Director of Missions Deryl Lackey
Here we are at the end of another year and it feels like we just got started. The Lord has truly blessed us here in the Inland Empire and it is a joy to be a part of what the Lord is doing. To see so many lives coming to Christ. To be a part of new church starts and seeing them make an impact in our communities. To have churches partner together in building the Kingdom of God.
I’m not even sure why the Lord has allowed me to be a part of such a great ministry in serving our churches. I just pray that He will continue to use me in any way possible.
I thank all of you for your prayers and support throughout this year and may the Lord continue to bless you and shine His face upon you. Have a great Christmas and tell someone about our King.
This was a busy month with the opportunity to help churches through conflicts and other various needs. We also started two new churches in Riverside and Corona. We had our annual golf tournament and we will continue with our Spanish seminary classes through the end of the year.
Ps.119:130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.
Happy Holidays to all! As we enter this Christmas season our staff would like to wish all of you a
blessed holiday season. While this can be a very busy and hectic time it is also a wonderful
reminder of the great expression of God’s Love and the extreme He went to in order to provide for
us a means of redemption. It has been a truly blessed year here in our Association. The number
of church plants, outreach events and so forth that we have been blessed to be a part of has
allowed us to hear of many who came to experience that plan of redemption on a personal
manner. Of course, that is what it is all about! People coming to Christ and becoming the “new
creation” spoken of in Scripture. One of the events that was a blessing last year was the solemn assembly in
which a number of our churches came together for a night of seeking God through prayer. Many have expressed
a desire for that event to happen again. In light of that we have set a date of Jan. 29th at 6:00 p.m. We are still
finalizing the location and details. If you would save that date on your church calendar it would be appreciated
and we will provide more information in the near future. Once again we wish for all of you a blessed and happy
Christmas and New Year!
Leadership: A Definition of a Spiritual Leader There are many and varied definitions of a spiritual leader. This article outlines a few common thoughts and proposes a definition of a leader as demonstrated in the Christian Leadership World. The seven most important characteristics of a spiritual leader: Character, integrity, a clear understanding of servanthood, understands and can clearly articulate basic tenets of scripture, a commitment to regular prayer, able to inspire or influence others, an ability to communicate ideas succinctly and clearly. These seven characteristics combine to build the trust necessary for leadership to be exercised.
The importance of committed, regular prayer in the life of a Christian leader must not be under emphasized. God must work in partnership with His people to accomplish anything that is good, productive and lasting. Prayer is the primary channel of communication between the believer leader and God. Therefore, a workable definition for a spiritual leader is:
A spiritual leader is one who demonstrates unquestionable character and integrity, displays a clear understanding of servanthood, can clearly articulate basic tenets of scripture, shows a commitment to regular prayer, is able to inspire and influence others, and has an ability to communicate ideas such as vision and mission succinctly and clearly.
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Martin Leach Church Growth Consultant
OUR CHURCH GOAL: _________________
The Inland
Empire
Association
wishes you a
Merry
Christmas
and a
Happy
New Year!
EQUIPPED FOR EXCELLENCE
Plans for our twenty-second annual training event are almost complete. It looks like we will have 41 conferences this year. Some notable titles include: How to Make Changes Without Being Fired led by Jim Wilson; Biblical World View led by Scott Key and How to Build Powerful Ministry Teams with D.D. Alexander. We are offering a conference just for youth again this year. It is entitled, Be the Message Now led by Paul Sasis. Our keynote speaker will be Randy McWhorter from the California Southern
Baptist Convention. Mark you calendars now for April 21, 2012 and plan to bring a good group to Equipped for Excellence this year. The publicity packet will be mailed in a couple of weeks and the web site will be updated with the 2012 information soon. If you would like to receive e-mail updates let me know. You can also follow Equipped for Excellence on Facebook.
SUNDAY SCHOOL DIRECTOR’S MEETING
We had a good group on November 8th. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 here at the associa-
tional office from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Our topics will be: How to Enlist Workers and How to Train Workers. Sometimes the problems we have with our workers can be traced back to improper enlistment and training. The skills you gain at this meeting will help you have better teachers and workers. These are often requested topics and I know every Sunday School Director will benefit from this information.
CHURCH MUSIC WORKSHOP
Mark your calendar and plan to attend the annual Church Music Workshop, sponsored by the California Southern Baptist Convention. It will be on Saturday, February 25, 2012. We will meet at the Magnolia Avenue Baptist Church, Riverside. You can read all about it at www.CaliforniaWorship.com.
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DATE CHANGE!!
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Nearly 200 people enjoyed the second annual Ministry Connection on Saturday, October 22, 2011. We want to thank Pastor Brian Simms and the CrossPointe Community Church of Fontana for hosting the Ministry Connection (a.k.a. Ministry Fair). Deryl Lackey had the idea last year in an effort to provide an alternative to the traditional annual meeting. Attendance at the meeting had been in decline for several years and this is an attempt to be more relevant to the needs of our churches.
Nearly 40 exhibitors representing church planters, cooperative partners, church ministries and ministry partners participated. Those who attended had an opportunity to speak with those who are currently involved in successful ministries. Lots of networking took place and ministries will be started or strengthened because of the event.
The Disaster Relief team from Immanuel Baptist Church, Highland prepared and served lunch. The Praise Team from The Vine Church in Rancho Cucamonga provided some music. The associational Evangelism Trailer was also set up. The children who attended had fun during the day in the bounce house, eating hot dogs, snow cones and cotton candy. Many of them had their faces painted by Lesa Edwards, whose husband is Pete Edwards, pastor at Calvary Baptist, Ontario.
Ministry Connection 2011
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Visit our website @ www.iesba.org
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
FOR THESE DATES!!
Clarion (UPS 044-370) Inland Empire Southern Baptist Association of
California
6857 Indiana Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506
Telephone: (951) 784-2655
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December 5 Pastor’s & Staff Christmas Dinner
Dec 21-Jan 2 IESBA Office Closed
January 27-28 Pastor’s Wives Retreat
January 29 Night of Prayer
February 25 Church Music Workshop
Clarion
Inland Empire Association Staff
Deryl Lackey Director of Missions
Claudio Medina Associate Director of Missions
Bruce Hitchcock Church Growth Strategist
Martin Leach Church Growth Consultant
Bobbie Brooks Ministry Assistant
Brenda Lackey Office Manager
Angela Mantzey Graphics Specialist
(951) 784-2655 • Fax (951) 784-2656