Morningside Baptist Church

Gilbert K. Taeger, Pastor
Jay Vance, Worship/Discipleship Pastor
James Holbrook, Youth Pastor
2900 8th Avenue
Yuma, Arizona 85364
928-344-2360

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MARCH 2008

Praise God for February 2008 at MBC. God gave us Kevin James Bynum as he accepted Christ and has been baptized, plus Mary Clutinger and Deborah Head as new members. I am most grateful to God for these people and their stand for Christ and His church. I am also deeply grateful to God for the Moving Forward designated gift that made it possible to attend the Small Group Conference at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest , CA in February 20-22. God showed us how He is blessing and multiplying small Bible Study/Recovery Groups across the land. It is the will of the Father for our Bible Study Groups to be healthier at MBC in the coming months. I pray you have or will make yourself available for God to use you for this to happen. We will be working with you for each of our small Bible Study/Ministry Groups to be healthy. Healthy is bearing fruit in maturing disciples, ministry, worship, reaching new people for Christ and fellowship. Most groups left on their own gravitate to fellowship at the expense of discipleship, ministry, evangelism, and worship. 2 Peter 3:9: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." Are we joining God where He is working so everyone has the opportunity to come to repentance in Christ and no one to perish?

I trust the work on the Fellowship Hall west wall is continuing as you read this newsletter, perhaps even finished and paid for. God provided all the funds for this and several other projects. Give Him Glory in Your Life. Amen!

Keep inviting people to the "Value Packed Parenting" that begins March 2, at 6:30pm in the Fellowship Hall. Crossroads Mission Sunday is March 16, with Myra Garlitt, the Director as our special guest and speaker, and the Crossroads Singers will be here to help us worship. Easter is March 23rd with the Son Rise Service in the Courtyard at 7:00am, breakfast at 8:00am (Sausage, Biscuits and Gravy, Fruit, Juice and Coffee (Donations please), Bible Study for all ages at 9:15am and Worship at 10:50am. There will be no evening services.

April 20th, IMB Missionary Tim Kenney will be our speaker during Sunday School for all Youth and Adult classes in the auditorium. Tim will preach during the worship time. Tim serves God & us in the Pacific Rim Countries.

I pray you will be a part of our mission opportunities, pray, pray, pray, give, give and give, and go, go and go as God leads. Some are praying, giving and going to Englewood , Colorado this summer the end of July.

Thanks for praying for, giving to, or doing all as you walk in the Walk for Life, Saturday, March 15th at Smucker Park for New Life Pregnancy. As of February 24, 15 MBCers have signed up.

Our Annie Armstrong Special Missions offering begins March 2nd and goes through the first part of April. Our goal is challenging at $7,000.00. This helps support all of our North American Mission Board Missionaries. (United States, our Territories and Canada ).

We have been blessed with great special music, new member meals, prayer times, Awana, Youth on Wednesdays, etc. Praise God.

God saved us in Christ to take the Gospel to everyone, everywhere ASAP.


Glory to God,
Pastor Gilbert

February 2008

Greetings in Christ;

Our AWANA key verse is 2 Timothy 2:15 NIV, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."

Praise God the opportunities to be a growing disciple and to disciple others abound in the life of our church. The Sunday evening discipleship series "The Peacemaking Church" is a rich Bible teaching, growing time. Come join us, respond verbally to Jay's questions and challenges. Paul taught Timothy and I trust you also, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." What reliable person(s) are you entrusting God's Word to, who will then disciple others? God has blessed me the past 6 months to be in a coaching relationship with Her Rimmer. We have met almost every week for prayer, Bible Study (Promise Keeper Bible Study), and outreach ministry/evangelism. Praise God, I have learned much from God and Herb. Herb, as you know, is one of our Servant Leaders in training. I just started a month ago having a coaching relationship with Tony Smith. Tony works in the education department at Crossroads Mission. Tony and I are also having a very rich and meaningful discipleship time each week. I am learning much about recovery that applies directly to my walk with Jesus. Jay Vance, Fred Orcutt and Bob Olson also have a coaching relationship going at this time with men in our church family. We must live out these commands of God in I and II Timothy. Please speak to me if you have an interest in being a coach or being in a coaching relationship. Discipleship means honesty, transparency, learning, studying, having specific assignments, and going out and doing ministry/evangelism, so you can actually model for the other person(s) how to do the work of the ministry. The coaching process should take at least 6 months and maybe longer. The goal is for the one being coached to then become a coach themselves. Both the coach and the one being coached learn and grow together from God, His Word and each other.

Praise God for our three new Deacons/Servant Leaders in training. For the marvelous work Jozlyn Davis and Judy Amick are doing in the preschool, our Bible teachers/small group leaders on Sunday and throughout the week, our sound and computer people, our continued excellent work to improve our buildings and grounds, for the new beds, toys, furniture, video monitoring system for the preschool areas, for the insulation in the fellowship hall ceiling and the west wall, for 25 new tables, and 150 padded, folding chairs, new emergency lights for the auditorium, new sink in one of the children's bathrooms, etc.

Praise God for the $12,562.50 for International Lottie Moon Mission Offering, the largest amount given by our church ever. I have been part of an assessment done by the North American Mission Board of our church and Yuma Southern Baptist Association. Jay and I will be attending a three-day small-group training seminar this month at Saddleback Community Church north of San Diego. Pray for us. I am praying with and for you. GOD'S OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND, WILL YOU DO IN HIM, CONTINUE TO JOIN HIM WHERE HE IS WORKING? I say "Yes, Lord". What do you say?

Glory to God,
Pastor Gilbert

January 2008

Happy New Year MBC Family!

"If any person be in Christ he/she is a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come." (2
Cor. 5:17) New life in Christ, New Year, new day, new opportunities, new challenges, Glory
to God!!!

Please allow me the joy, for just a few minutes, to look back over 2007, to the Glory of God. Praise God for 22 people saved and baptized, 26 new members by letter/statement. When the last budget offering is counted, looks like God will have given through us in the Budget Offerings (20%) $65,000.00 to missions. Remember that does not include our special mission offerings, Lottie Moon (International), Annie Armstrong (National), Willis J. Ray (State) offerings, mission trips, etc. I know we will be over $100,000.00 given to missions in 2007 again. Glory to God! A few other great things God has done in 2007 in and through MBC:

These are but some of the many ways God has allowed us to join Him where He has and is working. We are excited about more fully implementing Josh Hunt info on doubling our Bible Study groups and numbers in 2008. We also will continue to move ahead with upgrading our buildings and beginning our second Sunday morning worship service. This service may be held in the fellowship hall initially.

Love and prayers,
Glory to God
Pastor Gilbert

December 2007

Greetings MBC Family,

"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 (NIV)
Praise God for His presence and life changing power available to all who seek HIM with all their heart. We joyously welcome into our family Jonah and Joel Davison, Linda Cornelius and Fran Simonson as they have accepted Christ and been baptized because of their love and desire to obey Jesus. Also we are most grateful to God for Frances, Andy, Joshua and Jacob Davison who come by statement of faith into our family. I praise God for 1,529 Christmas Shoe Boxes sent from Yuma County . To God be the GLORY!! God uses people to do His work. Thank you Lord for Cookie Wagter, the team YOU assembled to help her, everyone who brought shoeboxes and Alex Montoya who transported the boxes to Phoenix .
What a wonderful Thanksgiving Meal was served on November 17. We have names and addresses on some 19 new people as a result of this meal. Thank you Linda Henry, your team and all the church family that were used of God to make this happen.
I am praying and believing God to use us to reach the $12,000.00 International Mission Lottie Moon Goal for our church this December-January. Please pray about joining God in Englewood , CO in July/August on our mission trip and also going to the US Virgin Islands in late 2008. Movie Nights December 1 "Amazing Grace" and December 22 "The Nativity Story."
I am grateful we will be upgrading the Fellowship Hall with insulation in the attic and west wall so we can be better stewards of God's buildings and money to use for His Glory. Pray for three new deacon/servant leader candidates who have/are being interviewed to begin training mid January 2008.
REMEMBER our very special Lord's Supper/Candlelight Christmas Eve service at 6 PM December 24. God has and is giving us another great financial giving year to MISSIONS!!!!!!!

Looking to Christ,
Pastor Gilbert