Living the Mission: Hurricane Irene Disaster Relief

Members of our church did not waste any time mobilizing to meet the needs that were created by Hurricane Irene. Before the hurricane had even arrived, Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia were actively working with our church to plan relief efforts through feeding units, chainsaw crews, and donated supplies in anticipation of the worst possible scenario. Despite the loss of electricity, some minor evacuations, and other inconveniences the overall impact of the hurricane was less than expected. Because our members were prepared to live the mission, we were able to distribute a tractor trailer load of supplies weighing almost 4,000 pounds, clear many trees and branches, as well as serve with a feeding unit at Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton. While many families were impacted by these efforts, the greatest impact was felt by one of our neighbors who lives literally across the street as he made the decision to become a follower of Jesus Christ as a result of the assistance that he received. May God continue to bless our labor when we live the mission even in the most difficult times!

Chesapeake Fellowship Prayer Gathering

Chesapeake Fellowship will meet once a month in homes for the sole purpose of corporate prayer.

Our first meeting will be Friday, September 23rd from 7:00-8:00 p.m. at the Albritton home (1905 Keeter Run, Chesapeake 23320).

If you are interested in hosting one of these gatherings in your home, please contact Stephanie Luttrull at sluttrull@firstnorfolk.org or 466.5181.

Living the Mission: Honduras Mission Journey

It is amazing how God can work through a team of people devoted to serving Him and spreading His Word! Our team partnered with Orphan Helpers, an organization that works alongside government employees to provide spiritual and emotional support for children under their care. We visited four of their facilities and sought to display Christ’s love through our actions, skits, and testimonies. As we spent time participating in activities with the children, we had opportunities to share Bible stories and to contribute to daily devotions. We had one-on-one conversations with the youth to foster relationships with them and to answer their questions about Christianity. At one facility, we ministered to several young ladies with backgrounds of abuse and neglect who had children of their own.

Many of our new friends had been exposed to God’s Word but had strayed from His path for their lives. It was our mission to reassure them of the Lord's love and forgiveness and to give them hope. By the end of the week, several individuals rededicated their lives to Christ! In just a short time God allowed us to have an eternal impact on these children's lives. We will remember each child and keep them in our hearts and prayers.

Thank You Letter from Union Mission (Big Serve 2011)

Thank You Letter

Union Mission Newsletter

Below is the September 2011 issue of the Union Mission newsletter. Our church is mentioned in the bottom left.

September 2011

Prayerwalk this Saturday among people from India!

Check out this free event at the Scope. A great opportunity to see people of other religions, pray for them, and converse with them about their faith and the truth of Jesus Christ!

Living the Mission: New York City Mission Journey

We were blessed to serve with Gallery Church Manhattan for the third consecutive year. 22+ million people live in the Metro Area and 1 out of every 300 people in the world live within fifty miles of Times Square! The nations have come to New York City with over 800 language groups represented. God is already at work here with 40% of the evangelical churches in City Center Manhattan today having been planted since 9/11!

Our team was part of 100+ volunteers who traveled to New York to be a part of a ministry called “City Uprising.” The teams participated in a community arts project in a local park, held a community block party, distributed 40,000 invite cards, and assisted several HIV/AIDS clinics. Many spiritual conversations took place and important connections were made with the local church. Pray that God grants Gallery Church local and global influence, through divine appointments, to bring glory to His name and to reach the unsaved of New York City and extending to the nations.

Spoons for Haiti

Spoons for Haiti is a program that provides metal spoons for children in Haiti so that they can eat the hot meals provided for them each day. It may sound like something small, but to them it means the world. Please leave your donated spoons in the designated bin outside the Live the Mission Center. Thank you!

Check out www.spoonsforhaiti.com for more details.

Circle of Encouragers Big Serve Recap

I want to start by saying thank you, thank you, and thank you to all who participated! We had 13 in all (plus our 'special assistant,' Matthew Q.). The bagging of the material went very quickly, and we divided into three teams to distribute the bags along the Light Rail line. After a short while, all three teams met at the MacArthur Square stop as the other stops were pretty sparse. Here is a rough tally of what the teams did:

One team started at Ingleside Road, handed out about 20 bags there, then moved to MacArthur.

Another team started at NSU, but nobody was there. The team then went to the Civic Plaza stop downtown and handed out about a dozen bags before proceeding to MacArthur.

The third team started at EVMS, but few people were there. They handed out a few bags then went to MacArthur.

We all handed out bags at MacArthur and also on the trains. In all, we handed out 190 bags, and had several opportunities to explain to people where our church is, and why we were out doing what we were doing. I witnessed a few incidents on the train of kids eating their granola bars from our bags and people looking at the church info cards. I am sure some of you saw the same thing.

I also want you all to know that after the celebration service on Sunday night, Pastor Eric asked Barb and me how our event went, so I gave him the rundown. He was very enthusiastic about our project! He expressed to us that reaching out to Tide riders is a high priority in terms of our church's strategy for reaching Norfolk, and this is one of the first steps in doing that.

Thanks,
Dave Q.

Living the Mission: Disaster Relief

Snow-melt swollen streams, late spring thunderstorms, five inches of rain in one hour, flashflood through town center, inches to feet of mud in homes—from where will hope come? A Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (DR) team from First Baptist of Norfolk, among others from Virginia, responded immediately to the call for help from the Baptist Convention of New England. Hope was brought to this damaged community by these strangers who came from afar in response to the call; hope was brought by the humble acts of service rendered by these DR workers who cleaned flood residue from homes; hope was brought by the listening ear of the DR workers who provided emotional support for the persons affected by the disaster. The Hope was brought by these demonstrations of God’s love and the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Two residents made professions of faith in the week that the First Norfolk team was present; in the subsequent month, as Southern Baptist teams from other states worked, a total of eighteen people came to know the living Hope of Jesus Christ through professions of faith. Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. “