A Note from Russell Johnson

A Family Moves Into Town Looking for a Church…

During the months of September & October, our church is working through the Joshua Harris’ book entitled “Stop Dating the Church” or now released as “Why Church Matters.”  It’s been a good read for everyone and has opened up many conversations that were worth having.

In Chapter 5, Harris gives a “Must-Have” list for everyone seeking a new Church.  I wonder how each of our churches would fare if a family came into our Church with this list in hand:

1. Is this a church where God’s Word is faithfully taught?  - 2 Timothy 3:16

2. Is this a church where sound doctrine matters? - 2 Timothy 4:2-5

3. Is this a church in which the gospel is cherished and clearly proclaimed?

            1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:1-9

4. Is this a church committed to reaching non-Christians with the gospel?

            Mark 16:15; Hosea 11:4; Acts 15:19

5. Is this a church whose leaders are characterized by humility and integrity?

            1 Timothy 3:2-7; Matthew 20:25-28

6. Is this a church where people strive to live by God’s Word? - James 1:22-25

7. Is this a church where I can find and cultivate godly relationships?

            Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:24-25

8. Is this a church where members are challenged to serve?

            1 Peter 4:10-11; Ephesians 4:11-16

9. Is this a church that is willing to kick me out?

            Matthew 18:15-17; I Corinthians 5 & 2 Corinthians 2

10. Is this a church I’m willing to join “as is” with enthusiasm and faith in God?

It might be worth the time for each of us, as Pastors, to examine our Church in the light of these questions.  It might be interesting (and scary) to have our people evaluate our Church by the same scale.

May we all strive to have Churches that God could trust with His chosen people!

Next Meeting: March 9th - Big Cypress

I’d like to encourage everyone to come to the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation for the March meeting of the Florida Baptist Bible Fellowship. Come and meet Bill Blomberg, a church planter from the Brighton Seminole reservation, and some of the church members from the Brighton reservation. Our other speakers include Joel Johns, currently in a building project at Cornerstone Baptist in Davenport, and Vern Murry from Liberty Baptist Church on Orlando. Indian Tocos and other Seminole culinary delights are on the menu for lunch (no alligator). 

The people at Big Cypress are excited about hosting the meeting and are looking forward to meeting you. We start at 11:00 AM IST (Indian Standard Time).  There are direction on our website www.bigcypress.us. For GPS the address is 34800 Josie Billie Hwy, or Government road.  The city you should use is Clewiston, even though we are 40 miles from Clewiston. Not all GPS units know where we are. Also, only AT&T and Sprint, and sometimes Verizon cell phones work on the reservation. Remember; let’s make “fellowship” a verb!

Directions

Officers will meet in Fellowship Hall at 10:00 AM.

Arlen Payne

Big Cypress New Testament Baptist Church

Big Cypress Seminole Reservation

In the heart of the Everglades

2016 FBBF Meetings

Scheduled Meetings

August 8, 2016
First Coast Baptist Church - Jacksonville, FL

October 10, 2016
Bible Believers Baptist Church - Port St. Lucie, FL

November 14, 2016
New Testament Baptist Church - Largo, FL

Next Meeting January 12th - Cornerstone, Davenport

We are excited to launch the new year with the state fellowship at Cornerstone.  We invite you to come for a time of encouragement, strategy, and fellowship.  Dave Janney, Pastor of Orlando Baptist Church will be preaching for us, we will have an extended lunch and fellowship time where we will share praises and problems that we can each relate to, and then be led in a discussion on how we can protect our churches from the homosexual agenda by Dr. David Anderson of Faith Baptist Church in Sarasota.  We look forward to seeing you on January 12th! - Joel Johns

11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Lunch Provided
Directions
3100 Sand Mine Rd.  Davenport, FL 33897

Next Meeting - November 10 - Liberty Orlando

Liberty Baptist

 744 N. Dean Rd. Orlando FL. 32825

Monday November 10^th 2014   11:00 am – 3:00 pm

Speakers:

Matt Macnaughton

Church Planter: Matt grew up in Orange Park, Florida and as a teenager, he realized his sinful state and gave his life to Christ.  At camp during his senior year of high school, God impressed upon his heart to go into full time ministry. 

Rich Andrews

Husband, Father of 3 great kids. Director of Ministries for Word of Life Florida and Associate Minister of Music at First Baptist Church New Port Richey, FL.Fl.

Paul Woods

Paul Woods has served as a youth pastor for 20 years at his church in Jacksonville, Florida. He teaches the youth ministry courses at Trinity Baptist College and serves as Chaplain at Trinity Christian Academy. His hobbies include distance running and coaching.

June 9th FBBF Meeting in Davenport

We want to invite all pastors, staff, missionaries and church planters to the June meeting of our state fellowship!  Due to a scheduling conflict, we have moved the meeting from Altamonte to Cornerstone in Davenport.  Here are the details:

10:00 a.m.  - Officer's Meeting
11:00 a.m. -  Pastor George Mulford of Grace Bible Baptist in Leesburg
12:00 p.m. - Catered lunch by Diromio's - Lasagna and Chicken Alfredo
1:00 p.m. - Pastor Randy Brown of Friendship Baptist in Ocala
2:00 p.m. - Flex

Directions:  
Cornerstone Church
Google Map
3100 Sand Mine Rd.
Davenport FL 33897

Call Pastor Joel Johns if you have any questions. 407-900-5635