JD Templeton

Minister of Adult Discipleship
 
Biography:
JD is a husband, father, outdoors-man, flea market junkie, and looks good in a hat. He and his wife, Kimberly, have two grown sons, Joel and Daniel. Native to Texas ministry has taken JD & Kimberly to New York and back.
 
JD came from FBC Cotton Center in 2016 where he served as pastor for 14 years. 
 
JD’s education includes ASU, Tarleton State, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
 
 

College and Young Professionals

 
Would you invest money in a retirement account if you didn’t know that money would grow and provide you with financial support in your golden years? Probably not! Spiritual investment is sometimes different than future financial planning. The result of some Kingdom investments will never be known this side of heaven.
 
Investments we make in young adults who are in college or testing the waters of the work force can seem risky. “They don’t give to the church!” “We can’t count on them being here.” These are just two observations (complaints, perhaps) about those in their 20 and 30-somethings.
 
Trinity’s College and Young Professionals’ ministry seeks to engage young adults in a vibrant discipleship life. Navigate is the Sunday night worship and fellowship arm of this ministry. We offer this ministry knowing that Trinity Baptist Kerrville may never reap the results that we are accustomed to from other church members. However, God has given us different evaluation standards. If we are willing to look at the big picture, we might see a 23-year-old woman today become an international missionary worship leader 10 years from now. We might notice a 27-year-old man today who will lead the greeter’s ministry in a new church plant in an unchurched area of Los Angeles.
 
Would you pray about investing in young men and women who need someone to walk beside them and say “You’ve got this!”? We need 3-4 people who would consistently join us Sunday nights, build relationships with young adults, and invest in the lives that cross over the Millennials and Gen Z.
 
Navigate meets Sunday evenings. Doors open at 6:30 pm, worship begins at 7 pm. Share this with the young people in your life, and consider sharing in their lives!
 

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Adult Ministry – January 2023

 
Can you be a disciple and not grow spiritually? Not according to Jesus. “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8)
 
What are you doing to position yourself for spiritual growth? Please don’t let this question push you toward guilt. Jesus is not asking you to climb Mount Everest in a single day! Understand that spiritual growth is usually a gentle climb, it is a process.
 
Trinity U is one avenue we have at Trinity to grow as disciples. This semester we have two sessions of the Disciple’s Personality. If you have studied the Disciple’s Cross, this is a great follow-up. Mark & Dianne Clemons and Royce & Cynthia Itschner lead these two groups.
 
A Skeptic’s FAQs, led by Bob Davis, will help you grow in confidence when confronted by hard questions. This will be a conversation, as you learn how to respectfully engage questions such as “What reasons do we have to believe the resurrection occurred?” “ and “Is it possible to be a moral person without believing in God?” 1/29-3/19
 
The Ministry Gift and Passion Inventory will equip you to fulfill the charge we have in 1 Peter 4:10 – “Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you to serve others.” Discovering your spiritual gift(s) is not simply a matter of taking a test. It is not rocket science, but neither is it a casual endeavor. It takes intentional thought and action. In this session you will explore how God has gifted you, and how you can plug into Kingdom service. 3/26. See you Sunday nights at 5 pm!
 
 
 

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Dominican Republic Trip

 
Joe, Jennifer, Jaden, and Jordan Rief; Becky Doyal; April, Jaycee, and Kenleigh Conner; JD Templeton; and Wes, Mica, Anna, and Charis Henson traveled June 18-25 to the Dominican Republic. We experienced God’s great work through a number of projects. Here are excerpts from a few of their stories.
 
Anna – God taught me about using simple tasks to glorify Him. We served ice cream to the youth and played basketball and volleyball, all of which God was working through even with the language barrier. God also helped me to discover new ways in which I can be a better leader now.
 
Becky – We visited the Santiago Orphanage, a wonderful place which cares for 140 abused and neglected children – teens to infants – who were legally removed from their parents. My heart hurts for those children, but I praise God that they are in a good place now. I plan, Lord willing, to go again next year.
 
April – This is my second mission trip to go on and I will say that I always get more out of it than I give. There were things to do at many different skill levels from sewing, making and sanding bunk beds, and construction. One of the construction leaders said, “God has given us a left and a right hand, and it’s up to you what you do with it.”
 
Charis – God showed me how he can take care of the orphans who have been mistreated by their family or who do not have a family. Some of the kids were scared to accept Christ because they thought they might get bullied. So, we encouraged them to accept Him because God will help them through it.
 
Jaycee – Before I went on this trip I was scared and not quite sure how I would help contribute. Now though, I feel like God has shown me that if I am willing I can be used for his work. This trip taught me a lot about myself and showed me that there are sisters and brothers in Christ everywhere. I encourage everyone, who is willing, to go on the next trip. The experience will give you far more than you ever imagined.
 
Mica – God taught me during my time in the Dominican Republic that no job was too small. There were times that I was not part of a large project, but I found ways to be helpful. Organizing donations, sweeping construction debris, and cleaning the dining area. All of it was essential in helping with the work God was doing.
 
Kenleigh – The way the people prayed so selfless convicted me that what I pray for doesn’t really matter. For example, they prayed for other people to know Christ and that they would have a good education. This trip not only brought me closer to people in the Dominican, but people from our church. I was originally nervous about going because it was a different, unknown place. But by the end, I didn’t want to leave.
 
 

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Bless Every Home

By JD Templeton
 
“We don’t choose what we will do for God; He invites us to join Him where He wants to involve us.” Henry Blackaby
 
“What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use — men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men — men of prayer.” E.M. Bounds
 
Can God work randomly in his kingdom? Absolutely, but that does not mean he won’t use organization or strategy. Remember Joshua marching around Jericho? Or Gideon paring down his fighting force? Strategy is merely a framework God uses to arrange men and women in his kingdom’s work.
 
The graphics included here represent a prayer strategy Trinity uses to reach our county for Christ. The icons represent current praying households. Bless Every Home provides structure to pray for our neighbors by name. However, without people to pray, that structure is powerless. Will you join us in praying specifically and daily for our neighbors? Will you accept God’s invitation to join him where he is working? Find more details ww.blesseveryhome.com/light/?cust=11778. You can also call JD to discover how to connect with this prayer movement of God.
 
 
 
 

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Intermittent Fasting

by JD Templeton
 
Intermittent Fasting, also known as IF, has been trending in health circles for a couple of years. Methods vary, but the basic idea is to fast from one or more meals for a 16-24 hour period. Many people practice IF daily, some twice weekly. Research suggests IF can have significant health benefits.
 
Would this principle work in our spiritual lives? Simply put, no. IF fails when applied to discipleship. Skipping spiritual disciplines on a regular basis will starve your spirit. Avoiding a small group Bible study contributes to spiritual atrophy. Our spiritual diets need nutrition from both corporate and individual sources.
 
Short term courses like Master Life can help instill spiritual knowledge that builds spiritual habits. Weekly small group Bible study promotes real life application of biblical truth through healthy fellowship and outreach. Daily Bible readings feed your heart and mind.
 
Eric Liddell (see his story in the movie Chariots of Fire) said “You will know as much of God, and only as much of God, as you are willing to put into practice.” If you want to be the man or woman God created you to be, you must daily practice being with and like Jesus. The Lord said in Luke 9:23 “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” The very nature of the word follow implies a journey, an ongoing commitment. So I encourage you – lay off the extra Christmas pie, but don’t fast from spiritual disciplines!
 
We celebrate the start of two new Sunday morning small group Bible studies. New Life (Greg Peschel, 11:00 am), and Genesis (Dale Moreau, 9:45 am) are now poised to apply God’s word, care for one another, and reach their communities. Pray about your current Bible study group helping us start new groups in 2022.
 
 

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