\
Pastor’s Notes Mark Elkins
As summer vacations begin to wind down
and the school year begins to wind up, it is
time for us to once again turn our prayers
to whom God desires to be our next
Deacons. There are new members and
guests since our last Election, so I thought it
would be helpful to review our process and
seek God’s guidance in this very important
endeavor.
As we saw in our recent sermon series, we
have a very biblical and God-honoring
Leadership Structure here at Grace. At its
founding, we decided to combine the
roles of Elder and Deacon into one office,
that of Deacon. Each Deacon serves a 4
year term on the Leadership Team with the
Pastor. This year, Lee Bryant finishes his
term and rolls off of our Leadership Team.
Our Bylaws divide the Deacon Election
process into 3 phases:
The Nomination Phase runs through the
entire month of August and it allows
members to prayerfully discern whom
they believe God is calling into this
important leadership position. A Deacon
nominee must be at least 18 years old,
have been a member of Grace for at
least one (1) year, and meet the
following standards:
A Deacon must live above
reproach, meeting the biblical
standards as laid out in
1Timothy 3:1-13 & Titus 1:5-9.
A Deacon must be committed
to some level of ongoing service
within the church.
A Deacon must be a regular
attendee of weekly church
services.
A Deacon must be regularly
involved in an ongoing church
sponsored study of the Bible.
The Qualification Phase begins in
September. It allows each
interested nominee to meet with
the Pastor and Chairman of
Deacons to discuss the Biblical
Qualifications and the Practical
Responsibilities of a Deacon at
Grace Baptist, as well as the Basic
Biblical Doctrines of our church.
The Voting Phase begins by
distributing a secret ballot of all
qualified nominees to every
member of Grace Baptist Church.
There will be a 3 week time period
for all ballots to be returned to the
church, at which time they will be
tabulated and the results reported
to the church.
I encourage everyone to read your
Bibles and prayerfully discern whom
God is calling to lead our wonderful
family here at Grace.
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH | AUGUST 2017
Upcoming
Events
Aug 1st
Deacon Nomination
Phase Begins
Aug 13th
Baptism Service &
Promotion Sunday
Aug 18th
Virginia Peach Festival
Aug 22nd
1st MOPS Meeting at
GBC
Sept 6th
Wednesday Night
Activities Resume Fellowship Meal
AWANA &
AWANA MAMAS
Isaiah’s Bells
Bible Study
Choir Practice
AWANA Kick-Off
& Ice Cream Social
Grace Notes
Nursery Schedule
Aug 06 – Nancy Howell & Candi Hylton
Aug 13 – Chris Howell & Peyton Elkins
Aug 20 – Paula Reynolds & _____________
Aug 27 – Brenda & Leon Vaughn
Children’s Church
Aug 06 – Maynee Meadows & Mandy Worley
Aug 13 – Diane Ross & Jane Bryant
Aug 20 – Wendy Buchanan & Grayson Howell
Aug 27 – Casey Elkins & Dawn Gregory
Prayer Deacons
August 06 – Chuck Buchanan
August 13 – David Byrd
August 20 – Greg Carlson
August 27 – Dick East
Start spreading the news! Our
AWANA ministry starts up a brand
new year very, very soon, and we
are super excited here at GBC!
Tell your friends all about it and
join us on Wednesday,
September 6th at 6pm for a
special AWANA Kick-Off and
Ice Cream Social.
New and returning AWANA
“clubbers” will meet their AWANA
leaders and get a chance to see
what the new year will be like. At the
end of the night, we will celebrate in
the Fellowship Hall with… (drum roll,
please) …ICE CREAM SUNDAES!!!
Our AWANA Ministry has several
clubs that are perfect for your child!
Cubbies (Pre K-Kindergarten)
Sparks (Kindergarten-2nd Grade)
T&T (3rd Grade-6th Grade)
Trek (7th Grade & Above)
Please contact Lena Howell if you
have any questions!
A giant thank you to all who helped with this year’s
Vacation Bible School!!! It was an amazing, fun-filled,
God-glorifying week. We were blessed immensely by
the opportunity to share our love for Jesus and God’s
Holy Word with so many children from the community.
Please, pray that seeds were planted that will bring
forth a mighty harvest in their hearts and that they will
surrender their lives to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Announcements We will be having a special Baptism service
on Sunday, August 13th. These baptisms will
take place in Dick and Pat East’s pool,
directly after our regular morning service here
at Grace. Please, come join us, as we
celebrate together the new life these
believers have through their Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. After the baptisms, stay for a little
cookout and fellowship. If anyone has any
questions about being baptized, contact
Pastor Mark, as soon as possible. And if you
can, please bring a side dish or dessert to
share.
August is Deacon Nomination Month. There
are small sheets of paper and a green box in
the hallway outside the sanctuary, where you
will be able to drop in your nominations. A
nominee must be a male member of the
church (for at least one year), who meets the
biblical requirements of Elders & Deacons as
outlined in 1 Tim. 3:1-13 & Titus 1:5-9. Please
contact Chuck Buchanan, if you have any
questions.
August 13th is also our Promotion Sunday.
Each student will move up to the next grade
level in our Children’s and Youth Ministries.
On Friday, August 18th we will be providing the
community with FREE waters and face
painting at the Peach Festival, and we need
your help! If you can serve anytime between
3 and 8pm, please see Pastor Mark and/or
the sign-up sheet in the hallway as soon as
possible.
Grace Baptist Church is happy to welcome
the local MOPS group for their first meeting of
the year on Tuesday, August 22nd, at 10am.
The Mothers of Preschoolers will meet here at
Grace, every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the
month, to encourage and equip one another
in the love of Jesus Christ. Please contact
Leisa LeFew, if you have any questions.
Mark your calendars! Wednesday Night
Activities resume on Sept 6th.
Join us for our Fellowship Meal,
which begins at 5:15pm.
AWANA Clubs are starting up again
on Wednesday, September 6, at
6pm with a special Kick-Off Night for
each child to meet their AWANA
Club leader. Please contact Lena
Howell, if you have any questions.
Isaiah’s Bells Rehearsals begin again
on Wednesday, September 6, at
6:15pm in the Music Room. Please
contact Marceia Bartlett, with any
questions.
Bible Study will meet again upstairs
at 6:15pm. Please contact Pastor
Mark, with any questions.
Choir Practice will be at 7:40pm.
We are in need of more volunteers for our
Nursery and Children’s Church ministries.
Please contact Nandrea Groves, if you
have any questions and/or are interested
in serving with the Children’s Ministry.
School supplies are on sale, which means
this is the perfect time to begin
purchasing supplies for Operation
Christmas Child shoeboxes. Please buy
pencils and sharpeners, pens, journals,
paper, scissors, hygiene items, small toys,
etc., while you can, and do not forget to
start praying for the children whose lives
these boxes will impact! If you have any
questions, or would like more info, please
contact Peyton Elkins.
Did you know? GBC has a library
upstairs across from the youth room
that’s full of Christian fiction, non-
fiction, periodicals, DVDs, and more!
Everyone is invited to use the library!
Just be sure to check out the
materials you want with the
sign-in sheet.
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
1 2
3 Frank & Alma
Guzman
4
Rodney &
Karen
Matthews
5
Lee Bryant Sam Register
6
7
8
9
Beth Hughes
10
11
Jan Ferraro Grayson Howell
12
Chuck Buchanan
13 12:30pm Baptism Service @ Dick & Pat East’s
Promotion Sunday
Rick Menear Karen Thisse
14
15
16
17
Dale Hollandsworth
18 3-8pm GBC Booth @ The Peach Festival
19 Jeff & Annetta
Lind
Samantha Register
20
Adrian Hodges
21
22 10am 1st MOPS Meeting of the Year
23
24
25 26
27
28
Kaleb Marshall
29 30 Sharon Joyce
31
August 2017 Birthdays Anniversaries