How Do I Give to Missions?

I realized recently that one of our faithful members at First Baptist Church Norfolk didn't know how to give to missions. The logical concern is then, if they don't...who else may need some help?

You can give online: http://www.firstnorfolk.org/contentpages.aspx?parentnavigationid=12249&navigationId=12276&viewcontentpageguid=aa38add7-1428-499a-a3e2-a2082061c028

This link will direct you to enter your online code or register to do so.

Then click "Go to my organizations egiving page."

There is a section for general missions giving that is labeled "Missions." This gift will go toward our World Missions Offering which is then divided as following: 40% International Mission Board/Lottie Moon, 40% North American Mission Board/Annie Armstrong offering, and 30% Partnership missions (essentially everything else that we do as a church).

There is also an area designated for giving toward a "Missions Trip." In this area you may indicate a journey and/or individual that you would like to give on behalf of.

Then finally, if you wish to simply give an offering in support of the direct Missions ministry of our church, you may give a gift in the "Other" column and label that as "FBCN Missions."

What if I am not an internet "surfer" or I am not comfortable using a credit/debit card for such?

An offering may be included in an offering envelope, a regular envelope, or with a simple description of your wishes attached. Simply use the designations given above to explain what kind of offering you wish to give. This offering may be given at our church or mailed to:

First Baptist Church Norfolk

Attn: Missions Offering

312 Kempsville rd.

Norfolk, Va. 23502

Thank you again for considering this great need and the opportunity that we have as a church to support missions throughout the year. If our Missions Ministry team can be of assistance in this process or answer questions about specific needs please contact us by calling the church at 757-461-3226.

Living the Mission: G.R.O.W.

Lives Changed through Outreach Ministry

Our three-member G.R.O.W. (God Rewards Our Work) visitation team enjoys a diversity of things from family and travel to computers and gardening. One of our greatest joys is when we see God providentially open doors of opportunity for our outreach team to share our faith!

A recent visit was to a family where the husband did not yet have a personal relationship with Jesus. After an opportunity to share the Gospel with him, he prayed to receive Christ. The tears in the wife’s eyes and her words that they could now come together as a family were a blessing that cannot be explained.

We wish we could describe the awe and excitement of our team as we return from one of these visits! It is an unbelievable joy to realize that God has allowed us to be part of His plan to bring the unsaved to Himself. Our desire is to see many more of our family of faith experience this amazing transformation that takes place on many Tuesday evenings at G.R.O.W. If you have ever felt a desire to grow in encouraging and reaching others for Christ, prayerfully consider G.R.O.W. as a step of faith to Live the Mission. For additional information, please contact Carol Hughes at 461-3226 (ext. 281) or chughes@firstnorfolk.org.

Glorious Night at the Cuffee!

I just had to post this great report from Julie Albritton:
I just wanted to send out a great big humongous THANKS to everyone who helped out with our Cuffee Christmas Program and Party tonight! It was a sweet time! I think we had around 80 people total there, gave out over 30 goody bags to the children filled with knit hats, crayons, "Happy Birthday Jesus" activity books, toothbrushes, snowflake ornaments that said, "God made me unique like a snowflake", a copy of the Gospel of John, and a candy cane, had a program of music, dance & storytelling, then celebrated with wonderful food!
It's hard to say exactly, but I would guess that over 50 of our church family were involved in some way! Special thanks to Sheila Arnold for sharing her amazing gift of storytelling with us, Megan Galan for coordinating the food and making everything look so beautiful, Melodie Walenius for making awesome cupcakes, Amy Sholes and Susan Briggs for working with the kids on their dances, Stephanie Freeman for printing our programs, heading up the tutoring and helping us stay organized, and Mike Tortora for planning great recreation and Bible study each week! Thanks so much to ALL OF YOU who faithfully come every week to love on these children in the name of Jesus!
Please continue to pray for these children and their families, especially as we reach out to them through our Angel Tree gifts!

Watch some of the videos:

Jingle Bells with Mrs. Julie from craig clayton on Vimeo.

Fun Snow song with the kids! from craig clayton on Vimeo.

Sheila storytelling with the children from craig clayton on Vimeo.

Living the Mission: Gosnold Apartments

Members of First Baptist Norfolk “Live the Mission” at Gosnold Apartments by demonstrating God’s love and sharing the living hope we have through Jesus Christ . The Apartments, located at 2425 Gosnold Ave in Norfolk, are a 60 unit, single occupancy studio apartment building constructed from a former RC Cola bottling plant by Virginia Supportive Housing of Richmond, in partnership with the cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake, for persons who have been homeless for at least 12 months. Residents may live there indefinitely, as long as they comply with their lease and pay the rent of $50.00 per month, or 30% of their income, whichever is greater.. Every Thursday night we have a one hour social, with 20 to 25 residents attending. At Christmas and Easter we host a meal for all of the residents, including a devotion related to the season, and the First Norfolk orchestra frequently provides concerts on these occasions. Every Sunday, transportation is provided for residents who want to attend Bible Study and worship at First Baptist. Most importantly, these ministry activities are about building bridges and relationships with individuals and ministering to their specific needs. More First Baptist volunteers are needed for each of these ministry activities.

WOM p.m. Serve at the Beacon House

The Women on Mission evening group hosted a Christmas luncheon today (12/11) for the folks at Beacon House. Beacon House is a facility that provides recreational activities for brain injured adults. About 18 people attended with some of their assistants. Besides lunch and dessert, we had story-telling, crafts, and cookie decorating. This possibly could be a new area for the WOM to serve. The director was very appreciative of us coming. You can read more about it at www.maryfoundation.org

Living the Mission: Medical Missions Team

Reaching our neighbors’ practical needs to touch them spiritually was a model used by Christ that the Medical Mission Team strives to put into practice.

Through the Big Serve Health Fair and with the help of many volunteers, the medical AND spiritual needs of over 150 local residents were addressed. A military family was provided with free wellness exams and Virginia school screenings so their children could begin school the next day. Families who had never attended our church previously were so moved by the kindness and compassion shown to them that they’ve been attending faithfully ever since.

Jesus came to heal. The Medical Mission team seeks to continue ministering to those in our community who are in need of healing and without hope. Please prayerfully consider how you might be part of this team as we live the Medical Mission throughout Hampton Roads in 2011.

Living the Mission: Cuffee Community Center

The church has truly left the building to live the mission by making God’s love real to children and adults alike through our ‘Wacky Wednesdays’ program at the Cuffee Community Center. Each Wednesday afternoon, Chesapeake Fellowship offers free music, tutoring, dance, games, crafts, sack dinners, and Bible stories to children in the surrounding neighborhoods. Through this program, we’ve had the privilege of getting to know the Cuffee staff and sharing with them. Through this partnership, our church has been invited to participate in community events and to bring our block party trailer. One staff member told us that we are now “part of the Cuffee family.” Through the relationships we’ve built at Cuffee, God has allowed us to connect with a Vietnamese man and his son. We invited them to our Vietnamese Thanksgiving Celebration on November 21st where the father prayed to receive Jesus! Please be in prayer for our Christmas program at Cuffee on December 15th, which we hope will be an opportunity to connect with additional families and for even more lives to be changed.

Living the Mission: Vietnamese Catalyst Team

Testimony – for many years I was bitter because I had to flee my country with two small children and my sister. We were frightened, heartbroken, and didn’t know anyone in this country. I was angry when church people told me that God loved me when He allowed war to tear apart our family and now my children had become fatherless. My sister took me to a Billy Graham crusade in Washington, D.C., and Jesus became very real to me that day. I began to understand, through the Holy Spirit, why church people loved me even though we were not related. I am excited to reach out to the Vietnamese community here and also by returning to Vietnam next month – the first time since the fall of Saigon in 1975! Through the cooperative efforts of the Catalyst Team and other members of our church, an amazing work has begun in the Vietnamese community in Hampton Roads. We have held Bible studies and fellowships on six occasions and had approximately 60 in attendance at the first gathering held at the Crossroads Center. We are praying for even more at the next event, a Thanksgiving Celebration on November 21st. God has also provided a Vietnamese pastor from Northern Virginia to lead Bible studies and worship services in the Vietnamese language. We believe God has orchestrated some amazing things so that a church could be birthed in the very near future as we daily LIVE THE MISSION!

Christmas Mission Opportunities

Below are some opportunities to get involved in missions over the Christmas holidays. Contact the missions office (466.5181) for more details or to get involved.

Christmas at First
First Baptist Norfolk
December 10th, 7:00 p.m.
December 11th, 7:00 p.m.
December 12th, 3:00 p.m.

Invite your friends who are unchurched to attend this free program at our church! Invitations are available in the Grand Lobby.

Cuffee Center Christmas Program
Cuffee Community Center, Chesapeake
December 15th, 5:00 p.m.

Volunteer to help set up for the program, serve food to families in attendance, and/or pass out gift bags to the children.

Alzheimer's Unit at Chesapeake Place
Saturday, December 18th, 10:00-11:00 a.m.

We are in need of volunteers who can provide entertainment and others who can visit with residents.

Gosnold Christmas Dinner
Gosnold Apartments, Norfolk
December 19th, 3:00 p.m.

Volunteer to cook food, set up for the meal, and/or serve meals to the residents.

Outreach for Christ
Virginia Beach
ongoing

Volunteer to help with their Toys for Children program by in various ways (assembling/delivering gifts, etc.). Call 498.4700 for more information.