What a blessed time of year to remember and declare God’s goodness to us. When we are truly thankful for all God has done, we can be joyful in all He is doing. God is at work and we rejoice in all of His activity among and around us. Prepare yourselves this season to celebrate Jesus, God’s greatest gift. Take notice and advantage of the many gatherings to do so at Trinity Baptist Church.

 
On December 15th, we will be gathering in our times of worship to nominate potential deacons to serve at TBC. Our New Deacon Selection Task Force is ready to complete their task of securing additional deacons. Each church member will have the opportunity to nominate up to three men to possibly serve as deacons of TBC.

 
What to do? Pray about who God may place on your heart to nominate. Ask that individual if they would be willing to serve as a deacon should they be selected. Should God lead you to do so, nominate up to three men. You can nominate one, two or three. Don’t nominate anyone you have not talked with about serving.

 
What to consider? I am not sure anyone qualifies to serve as a pastor or deacon. We all need the LORD in our life to lead us and we don’t qualify on our own. However, there are qualities that need to be present in the life of those who serve in these positions. Scriptures would lead us to these qualities: serious purpose, honest in speech, temperate in living, steward of possessions, spiritual integrity, proven spiritual maturity, Christian family life.

 
Trinity deacons also feel strongly that they should: attend worship services, belong to a Bible study class, contribute faithfully to the finances of the church through stewardship, assume service with responsibility and support the ministers of the church.

 
Church members who may not be nominated are men currently serving as deacons and those who have not been a member of TBC for at least one year. A list of current deacons will be published. As you pray about this and the LORD places a name on your heart, ask them if they would be willing to serve before nominating them. We are hopeful and prayerful that we will have a list of potential deacons for church vote in February. At that time, each person presented will need to carry a two-thirds vote by the church to be selected.

 
We have incredible men who serve as Trinity deacons. They are a blessing to us in many ways that go undetected. Thank you, deacons. Thank you, Trinity.

 
Merry Christmas,

 

Thank you, Trinity, for the appreciation shown to our ministerial staff during Pastors’ Appreciation Month. I love our team of ministers and am so blessed to learn from them as we lead Trinity toward next steps and missional purposes.

 
We took our church vote in October regarding the recommendation from our New Deacon Selection Task Force to allow women the opportunity to serve as deacons at Trinity. The vote did not carry the percentage needed to change the bylaws, though 54% voted in favor and 46% voted against. Therefore, we will move toward our next step of deacon selection and seek the nomination of men to serve as deacons soon. I want to again share my appreciation to David Sprouse, Diane Donaldson, Suzii March, Pennie Olivo, Dan Petty and Vern Stahl for the first half of their responsibility. They now will lead our church through the nomination process and selection of new deacons.

 
November is the month for thanksgiving. Though we recognize it, nationally we also celebrate gratitude throughout the year. Every day is a day of gratitude for those who recognize God’s great gifts. “Don’t be deceived my brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:16-17

 
God is so good to us all. His gift of Jesus makes all the difference and, in faith, we have a purpose and place. God’s gift of family goes beyond expectation and I celebrate not only my physical family but my spiritual family as well. God calls us together for His glory and reputation. I am thankful today and every day. God is good, all the time; and all the time, God is good. Let us praise Him together.

 
“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.” Psalm 150:6

 

In Christ,

 

Thank you, Trinity Baptist Church, for your faithfulness to seek the LORD and His purposes for our Faith Family. Melinda and I have been richly blessed through all the churches we have been privileged to serve and count the last twelve years here as a joy to walk alongside you. We have made it a point to listen to God and be true to His Word, which we find so many others in our journey doing the same. We anticipate God’s continued direction and favor as we begin year thirteen and beyond. It is an honor to serve you as your pastor.

 

As we finish summer break, and begin to prepare for the start of school, we do so with continued faithfulness in mind. This month, we will have the privilege of hearing from our New Deacon Selection Task Force. We have been praying for them by name since they were formed in early 2024. With the need for additional deacons, the question was asked should we allow for women to be nominated to serve as deacons at Trinity Baptist Church.

 

Our deacons took a long look at this possibility most of 2023. We had several deacon discussion groups where deacons came and heard from each other and looked at scripture. In November of 2023, your deacons voted to send this question to the Church Council. In January, they put together a task force and gave them the responsibility of researching the possibility of allowing for women to be nominated as deacons and also to carry out our new deacon selections which we hope will take place this fall.

 

I, like many of you, consider Trinity Baptist Church to be a very healthy church that can handle a very healthy question. This is not new to Trinity. In 2003, Trinity put together a task force to consider the very same question. The church voted in the positive, but not enough to change the bylaws. Trinity has been on the front edge of ministry for almost 75 years. Nothing changes our mission together. This month we will hear from another task force given much of the same responsibility. They have been meeting since February and are now ready to share with the church what they have discovered as a group.

 

There are two church discussion times planned. The first will be Monday. August 26th at 5:30 pm and the second will be, Sunday, September 8th at 4:00 pm. Both will be held in the Worship Center. In preparation for these discussion times, the task force has asked that two papers be available for the church to read. They will be available on our website and hard copies will also be available in the office. The papers are from Dr. Jim Denison, “Should Women Serve as Deacons? Seeking the Word and Will of God,” and Dr. Todd Still, “Women in Ministry: Biblical, Theological & Practical Reflections.”

 

Our decisions are not based upon papers, but upon the Word of God. Both of these papers take the Bible and give great explanation. Please take advantage of these opportunities of preparation as we travel these days together. I love that our church will be the one to determine the outcome. That is one of the beautiful things about being a Baptist.

 

We have a great group of men who serve TBC as deacons. Many of their wives serve alongside them as needed. With the age of our deacons rising, they have expressed a need for additional deacons. We have many who serve TBC without a title. God puts the body together as He chooses. How will we do our part at TBC for future years to come? This is not a question of salvation but of how we will organize to serve the LORD and one another. This is a healthy question for a healthy church. Let’s keep reading and praying together.

 

 

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine on us –– so that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among the nations. May the peoples praise You, God; may all the peoples praise You.” Psalm 67:1-3

 

If you reread the printed verses, you will find that the psalmist begins talking about God  only to switch audiences and speak directly to God. This happens several times throughout the psalms. We are a blessed people at Trinity  Baptist Church. God is the one who blesses for sure. Though there are many things ahead of us, we are grateful for the faithful things behind us and blessed with the present direction God is placing before us.

 

The summer ministry opportunities are in full swing. Once again, we have completed, with help from incredible church volunteers, our Vacation Bible School and Mini-Kids Camp. Our children and students are gearing up for camps in July while making the most of each week’s gatherings to learn more and grow in community. Our prayers remain constant regarding the issues around the world. We are traveling our summer pilgrimage through a reaffirmation of choices or making choices   regarding our devotion and direction. God has a purpose. God makes it known to us. God’s purposes are really the best purposes. I am thrilled when I see us staying in the middle of God’s choices.

 

Please continue to pray for our New Deacon  Selection Task Force. They have continued to meet and research the direction for Trinity Baptist regarding the need for new deacons. One of the discussions before us this summer will be the role of women serving as deacons at Trinity Baptist Church. Let us continue to lift up Dr. David Sprouse, Scott Barns, Diane       Donaldson, Suzii March, Pennie Olivo, Dan Petty and Vern Stahl.

 

Remember that we will only have one service on July 7th. We will start with a worship service at 9:00 a.m. and then have Bible Study at 10:00 a.m. There will be a place for every Bible Study class to meet because a couple of classes have agreed to go to a new space for one Sunday. Thank you for all you do to help us do what we do. We are looking forward to our Family Gathering and Member Meeting this month. It will be our annual ice cream Sunday and game time.

 

Melinda and I are blessed to get to serve  Trinity Baptist church. This month marks our twelfth anniversary. I anticipate year thirteen and the future years to come. Thanks for loving us and our family so well.

 

 

“You, LORD, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light. … As for God, His way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.” 2 Samuel 22:29,31

 

These two verses are part of the theme verse for the National Day of Prayer that will take place on May 2nd. The theme is “Lift up the Word, Light up the World.” It will be a special day as many in our nation will gather to pray for America. We understand that if we are to influence the world, we must begin where we are. God has blessings for His people and desires that they shine their light in order that God may be praised. Not just America, but our entire world needs to see this now more than ever.

 

God has set a path for our Faith Family to read through the Bible together in 2024. It has been a blessing to hear from many of you as to the LORD’s blessing from your obedience. Along with our reading God’s Word together, we have also felt the need to pray alongside one another. This is nothing new. We have prayed together for years as it is an important part of our church service and ministry. However, we will spend 48 hours of consistent prayer, from April 30 to May 2 praying for Trinity Baptist and our direction in God’s Kingdom. We have secured someone to pray each hour leading up to the National Day of Prayer and even have some time assignments with multiple people agreeing to pray. May God be praised.

 

Thank you, Trinity, for helping us prepare for the Eclipse Weekend. Some saw more than others but we all experienced the absence of light when the moon covered the sun. Not only did it look different but it felt different. My immediate observation was it didn’t matter how long it took to get dark, it didn’t take any time at all for the light to return. That is because the light never went anywhere. It was always there.

 

Much like God who never goes away but sometimes can become clouded because of what we place in front of Him. When we get things in order He is quick to shine in our lives once again. Shine in such a way that we reflect His light in our lives. God is light. In Him is no darkness at all!

 

Summer is just a page away on our calendars. It will be covered with incredible opportunities for shining God’s light. I hope you will make yourselves available for next step discipleship this summer. We are praying for a summer of transformation and not just a summer of marking off the days. May God do something among us that we cannot explain as we make ourselves available to His plan.

 

It is a joy to serve you as your Pastor.

 

In Christ,
Pastor John

God is so good! I am so blessed to be a member of a transformational and missional church. I am encouraged often by the words and actions of Trinity Baptist Church. It is hard to believe that two months of 2024 have already passed. As we lean into March, we are approaching the season of celebrating the Resurrection of our LORD Jesus. 

 

The Victor is in full swing and so are our  preparations to be ready when folks come to experience it with us this year. As a part of our preparation, we have added Victor Prayer Circles. We have encouraged our Bible study classes to gather and pray for those who need to respond to the message of salvation and hope through Jesus. We also have several homes who are inviting church member neighbors to come and pray also. We will cover many days and especially the days of our Victor offerings in prayer and anticipation.  

 

Also, in preparation, we are providing evangelism training at Midweek prior to the Victor. By the time you read this, there will be two more Midweek opportunities on March 6^th and 13^th at 6:00 p.m. We also have our Midweek meal at 5:00 p.m. for the best price in town of $5. Come and take advantage of being prepared to share the gospel in many different situations.  

 

We are in a new sermon series, “Who is this Man?”  We will be looking at the miracles of Jesus between now and Resurrection Sunday with the greatest miracle of all on that special day.

 

In Christ,

 

Our new year is fully underway. There is excitement as we think about where we will go and what we will do. God is exalted through the faithfulness of Trinity Baptist Church. I hope you are allowing our simultaneous Scripture reading to be a blessing to your day. I have heard more than just a few share how God is blessing this time as couples and families are reading God’s Word consistently. It is amazing how much the word for the day intersects the circumstances of the day in  positive ways. If you have not begun to read along with us, it is not too late. Pick up a Daily Bible Reading Plan 2024 and begin reading from the present date. God is honored when we put His Word in our lives.

 

The Victor is in full rehearsal swing. The Victor Choir is rehearsing and the Victor Drama groups will begin blocking scenes and memorizing lines. This is truly our gift to our community. What a blessing to see so many of our members taking on responsibilities of   telling the greatest story ever told.

 

This year I am hoping that we will add one more emphasis for the Victor. That emphasis is prayer. Prayer that those who have yet to    believe in Jesus will come to a performance with one of our members. We are praying now, and will continue to pray, that a spiritual    conversation would develop and lead to a   gospel presentation. We will share more of the details as they develop, but we are hoping to have what we used to call “cottage prayer meetings” as we get closer to our presentations. We will also be offering some evangelism training on sharing our faith prior to the Victor. God is so good to allow us to strategically plan for Holy Spirit encounters.

 

May we continue to be a reproducing community of authentic disciples being equipped as missionaries and sent by God to proclaim His Kingdom in our world. Milfred Minatrea’s definition of what it means to be missional has influenced my life for over 15 years. As I write this article today, I am anticipating a call with Milfred Minatrea in hopes of bringing him to Kerrville to fill our pulpit some Sunday. Oh, to move beyond what we have known and attempt that which will transform us. To God be the glory!

 

In Christ,

 

“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down to worship Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  –Matthew 2:11

 

I love the Christmas story, all of it. The obedience of Mary and the obedience of Joseph are examples for us all. The devotion of the shepherds to go and see for themselves what was declared in the fields. The offering of travel from the East by the wise men who brought with them gifts for the newborn king. There are so many things that seem to compete with the real story of Christmas, but none of them offer the greatest gift of all.

Every character of Christmas has something to teach us; from obedience to worship, from worship to sacrifice. Once a year is not enough for us to grasp the great love God has poured out for us at Christmas. Remember, as we put up our nativity and carefully wrap the characters of Christmas, we remain on display all year for the world to see what difference the Christmas story makes in our lives. Because of Christmas, we live different lives. As a result of the resurrection, Christmas matters greatly.

 

We have been blessed in 2023 and are anticipating great things for 2024. We are a year closer to the LORD’s return. There are still people who need to know about Jesus, but we can never share what we do not have.

 

In 2024, Trinity Baptist Church is being asked to journey together as we read through the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. There will be a reading schedule for each day. We will do our best to get into your hands this schedule as often as it is needed. Our prayer is that there will be a plethora of members who have journeyed together at the end of 2024.

 

We rejoice in the assembling for almost a year now of our new space. It is a blessing to see how many times and in how many ways we are sitting together and sharing with one another. New Adult education space and student space is being used and we are seeing the fruit of new people almost weekly.

 

As we begin a new year together, I am reminded of a camp song from years back. “Yes, LORD, yes, to Your will and to Your way. Yes, LORD, yes, I will trust you and obey. What the Spirit speaks to me with my whole heart I’ll agree. And my answer will be yes, LORD, yes.” I am thankful there are so many who follow the LORD and who have said, “yes” even before they know the question. May we sense God’s direction and provision as we walk together.

 

In Christ,

 

 

In times of peril and calamity, God gives light. God gives hope. I am amazed at the early darkness we are experiencing these days. It seems to get dark, really dark very early. There is nothing better in the darkness than light. We could apply these words across many worlds. Both here in the United States, and in our world, there is deep darkness. There is conflict around every corner. However, there is also truth and light standing next to it. 

 

I love Christmas. It really is the most joyful time as I consider all that we celebrate in Christ’s birth. But we also hear that it is the most depressing month of our calendar. For those who know the Light of Jesus, it may seem joyful. But, for those hanging on their last thread of hope, it is often deep and dark. Those around us may need a dose of light that comes from Jesus shining through us. 

 

As we round out the days of December, we will also be rounding out the days of our first year of utilizing our new space. It is amazing to see families together and generations of church friends visiting in the Cafe area. Our adult and student spaces are being used several times a week for groups to gather and plan and study. Thank you, TBC, for your faithful dreaming and stewardship in bringing this about.

 

We have witnessed good things take place in 2023. I am certain that we will witness and  experience the same in 2024. I hope you will take advantage in preparing your heart for the Christmas season through the many and varied opportunities at Trinity. Invite your family, friends, and neighbors to come with you. Let us approach this season with gratitude in our hearts as we make ourselves available to be used by God in the days ahead. 

 

May it be said of us what was said about the village lamplighter. We may not see him anymore, but we can certainly tell where he has been. May people know we have walked with Jesus as He lights the path on our journey.  

 

Merry Christmas! 

 

In Christ,