The Baptist Bridge

October 2012 By the grace of God, the Philippi Baptist Church shall Embrace, Model, and Share the love of God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Philippi Baptist Church 107 Church St. Philippi, WV 26416 (304) 457-3206

Inside this Issue Pastors Message...2 Birthdays3 Anniversaries...3 Prayer requests...3 Schedule...3-4 Events.4 Getting to know...5 Sportsmans Banquet ...6

Catch us on the radio live every Sunday Morning at 10:30a.m. WQAB 91.3 FM
E-mail: office@pbcwv.net Website: www.pbcwv.net

107 Church Street Philippi, WV 26416(304)457-3206

Jon Villers, Pastor

Dear PBC family, We bring you greetings from your Union Association Churches who consider you a sister church in service. You had 20 other churches in the Union Association last month and now you have 21! We welcome the Long Run Fellowship Church as our newest member to the Union Association as of September, 30, 2012! Their request to join our association was unanimously approved at our 208th Annual Gathering that was held at the First Baptist Church of Elkins. I would ask that you keep Pastor George Murphy, their spiritual leaders and congregation in our prayers. I want to include the church's address so that we might have an opportunity to welcome them to our family. 1804, 1849, 2012 all carry significance with dates to remember! I have attached a few paragraphs from "West Virginia Baptist History, The Early Years: 1770-1865" that give you an indication of the importance of the first two dates: "Undoubtedly, the same reasons were offered for forming the Union Association in the northern areas as for the Greenbrier and other Baptist associations. Those were, of course, the need for fellowship of scattered sister churches, sanctioning of pastors and visiting evangelists, doctrinal unity and stability, and fraternal connections with the larger body of Baptists. Even though there was no national body of American Baptists prior to 1814, minister and lay travelers from one region to another brought increasing contact between churches and associations. As noted in the early associational minutes, fraternal representatives bringing greetings from a church or association became a rather common occurrance. The formation of associations was, by this time, becoming a natural consequence for churches finding themselves grouped together geographically and, in the case of present West Virginia, those churches were usually separated by a range of hills and/or mountains......The minutes of the Redstone Association of 1804 state: 'A petition from the churches in Virginia to this Association for a separate Association, viz., Simpson Creek, Pricket's Creek, Hopewell, Mount Zion, Salem, Union, and Sandy Creek Resolved, to be taken under consideration and rest till next Association.' In 1803 the request was granted by the Redstone Association and in 1804 the Union Association met for the first time at Prickett's Creek Church in present Marion County."(pg. 51) I thank Truett Rogers for providing us a history of where we have come from! The second date comes into significance as we read a little further in his book: "PHILIPPI BAPTIST CHURCH, Barbour County -- 1849..... First Services were held in the County Court House and in the Grange Hall which was leased by the church. The first resident clergyman was Rev. R. M. Strickler, noted as a Yale University graduate." (pg. 137) And the last date marks our newest addition to the Union Association. 2012 continues to be a year of growth and health in God's Kingdom! Here is the address of our new sister church - Long Run Fellowship, 30 Free Will Drive, Flemington WV 26347 - Pastor George Murphy We also want to celebrate with the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church who is in the process of ordaining their current Pastor, Paul Byrd. Pastor Byrd has completed his ordination paper and their church will soon be making a call to all of our association churches to send deacons and pastors to participate in his Ordination Council. I serve as chairperson for the Nominating Committee for our association and was privileged to sit down with Paul to hear his heart for ministry and the calling on his life!!! We have several opportunities each year to connect with our sister Union Association Churches. I would encourage you to come and meet your brothers and sisters in Christ as we continue to learn how we can do far more together than we can apart!!

Shalom, Pastor Jon

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Unspoken requests for family members, unsaved people, community concerns, job and home loss, financial difficulties. A-B College, President Creehan faculty, staff and students Denny Poling-Bowers Lee Beuckman Dan Bryant Jamie & Jason Burrow Ralph and Phyllis Crites Chuck Boyer Eleanor Ruth Burton Audrey Cross Sharon Cross Becky and Mike Elmore Melissa Frankes Aunt Gail Otilia Franke Jim & Joni Friend Jane Gibbons Joe & Beverly Gouer Courtney Hills grandmother Anthony & Noah Hinkle Holly Camacho Jerry Jones Brenda Hunt Christina Maddy Donal Matthews Amanda Means Shane Miller Donna Moore Dr. Jennifer Parks Sara Polings family Brenda & Gary Price Julanne Roy Margaret Salimi Braden Scheick Tommy Singley Family Kaley Sinsel David Smell Donna Thorne Christina Wentz Elizabeth Wentz Also, in need of prayer: Our national, state, and country leaders and officials. Please pray for Victims of crime, war and violence throughout our country. Pray for protection for military personnel and their families throughout the world and those serving our country: Tim Jenkins, Chris Mossburg, Major Kris Wood and Captain Aaron Cross

Mens Prayer Breakfast

Saturday, October 6 7:30 am Medallion Restaurant
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1 Jordan Price 5 Eric Wolfe Tom Kines 14 - Bob Byrne 17 Pete Ferguson 18 Austin Whitman 20 Stephen Lewis 22 Joan Hill 23 Carla Campbell 25 Eli Campbell 27 Pastor Jon Villers 28 Jim Kines 28 Mary Tamulitis 29 Georgeann Davis Bill Klaus

6 Danny & Melissa Franke 11 Ross & Molly Campbell

Otilia Franke (Mansfield Place) Blair & Pearl Marks, Dr. Shearer, Mary Tamulitis Vangie Shaffer: (Mansfield Place) Germaine & Austin Whitman,

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7TH

A-B Students from the Baptist Campus Ministry are sponsoring a benefit lunch before the walk in the Fellowship Hall of Philippi Baptist Church. A love gift for the food will be accepted. The lunch will start at 11:45am. Mayor Mouser has scheduled a community wide picnic from 1-5 that same afternoon. After the walk, it would be great if our churches would walk over to support that gathering! They will be using the city lots across from the BC Bank behind the Presbyterian Church downtown

Childrens Volunteer Watch and Teach Calendar for October

October 7 October 14 Christie Allen Need Volunteer Koreen Villers Bobby Villers Kelly Bracey Lindsay Bracey October 21 Rebekah Hicks Tom Dadisman Pete Ferguson Chuck Ervin Carol Ervin October 28 Cheryl Wolfe Allison Villers Heather Cottrill Hayden Cottrill Sara Poling Eddy Poling

Nursery Wee Church Junior Church

Wanda Steele James Steele Cheryl and Abby Blankenship Sarah Ferguson Pete Ferguson

CHILDRENS RALLY
WVBC Childrens Rally (kindergarten 5th grade) is Saturday, November 3rd from 9am-3pm at Parchment Valley Conference Center in Ripley, W. The theme is Gods Olympics: Running the Christian Race. Cost is $12 per person, which the church will pay. If interested in going, please let Koreen know by October 14. Transportation will be provided also. Theme t-shirts are available for $10, which you must prepay by October 14th.

We are beginning our 2012 World Mission Offering . You will find information in the bulletin and newsletter. The theme is Hear the Call. The gifts received from this effort will help IM to call a new generation of missionaries into service, will provide continued support for current missionaries and help support crucial ministries of the partners with whom they serve.

COME SEE WHAT ABW HAS TO OFFER

Who: Women of the Church Where: Fellowship Hall When: Tuesday, October 2nd 7:00pm

Program: Shaped and MoldedPresented by Koreen Villers Bible Book of the Month II Samuel

We will be collecting Campbells Soup labels and Box Tops for Education throughout the year.
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Craig Cobb is currently serving as the Treasurer for Philippi Baptist Church, but he has also served as Financial Secretary, member of the Diaconate, Church Moderator, Sunday School Superintendent, and chair of the Every Member Canvass (for the past ten years!). He smiles as he reports that in his home town, Hinckley, Ohio, he was raised Lutheran by Methodist parents. His smile broadens as he adds, My wife, Sarah, was raised Methodist by Lutheran parents. How did they wind up being American Baptists? It seems that after they moved to Philippi, Sarah began teaching at the Junior Elementary School where Priscilla Wonkka taught music. Priscilla, then organist at Philippi Baptist Church, invited the Cobbs to visit. We immediately felt right at home, Craig says, and weve been here ever since. This church is the foundation for everything else we do, whether in our family or in the communitywherever. As for community, Craig has served on the Barbour County Solid Waste Authority, and he has coached youth soccer. He was the president of the Barbour County Swim Team Association for 3 years; and he has served as the secretary of the City Planning Commission for the City of Philippi, for the past 14 years. Craig earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Ohio University and later his Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Cincinnati. In between, he spent almost three years on active duty in the U.S. Army, stationed at Ft. Meade, Maryland, where he worked for the US Army Environmental Hygiene Agency. When he finished his masters degree, he landed an engineering position with the WV Bureau for Public Healths Environmental Engineering Division, which just happened to have a field office here in Philippi. Thats what brought him and Sarah to Philippi back in 1978. He still works for the Bureau for Public Health as the supervising district engineer in a 14-county district here in north-central West Virginia. It was all divine guidance, he now says, meeting Sarah through her father, who was the chairman of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate Program at the University of Cincinnati; making contact with the director of the Office of Environmental Health Services in West Virginia, a retired Army colonel, and former commanding officer for the U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency; finding a job in West Virginia, which was Sarahs parents home state; and locating a church home here at Philippi Baptist. He gestures with both hands. The Good Lord put all the pieces together, and here we are, the result of His divine guidance.

SPORTSMANS BANQUET
Friday, November 2 6:00 p.m.
Junior Volunteer Fire Department $8.00 Each (covers admission and meal)

Speaker: Bill Morlan

GIVEAWAYS
Must be present to be awarded any prizes

Tickets are available at the Church Office

Sponsored by Barbour Outreach