King's Herald-October

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October King's Herald

King's Herald-September

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September King's Herald

Awana begins September 11th

The 2016-17 Awana club year will begin on Sunday, September 11th.  The club will run at its usual time, from 5:45-7:30, and will be for kids entering kindergarten through sixth graders.  Awana consists of three segments: game time (the kids' favorite, who can blame them), book time (when the kids memorize and recite their scripture verses), and council time (the weekly Bible lesson and songs).  We also throw in a variety of themed nights in the year like Crazy Hat Night.  Awana is open to the community, you certainly don't have to attend First Baptist to bring your kids to Awana, all are welcome.

In addition, this year we will begin our cooperative youth ministry with our neighbors down the street, Christ UMC.  Kids from the two churches in K-6 will attend Awana, and those from 7-12 will be a part of the MS and HS youth groups led by Pastor Jonathan Smith of Christ UMC.  We are excited for this opportunity to pool our ministry resources with our brothers and sisters in Christ as we together do Kingdom work.  Looking forward to a great year of Awana!

August King's Herald

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August King's Herald

History of the Bible class to be given at 1st Baptist of Greenville

The same history of the Bible class that Pastor Powell has given previously will be held at the First Baptist Church of Greenville, PA on July 17th, 24th, 31st, and concluding on August 7th.  The class will begin at 6:00 PM and go until 7:30.  It is free and open to the public, no registration required.  There will be an opportunity for Q&A each week.

First Baptist of Greenville is located at: 60 Shenango St. Greenville, PA 16125
Their website is: First Baptist of Greenville

The History of the copying, preservation, and translation of the Bible will be given in a four-part class taught by Pastor Randy Powell of First Baptist of Franklin.  This class will include helpful visual aids that will assist in the telling of the amazing history of God’s Word, beginning with the original manuscripts in Hebrew and Greek, and ending with the modern English translations that we read today.  When we understand the history of how an accurate rendering of the original words of the authors of the Bible has been preserved for two millennia, our faith in its trustworthiness will only increase.  The class will include an opportunity for Q&A, is free and open to the public with no reservation required; it will be a benefit both to novices and to those who only need a refresher, including pastors.

July King's Herald

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King's Herald-July, 2016

1st Baptist looking to hire part-time youth worker

First Baptist of Franklin is looking to hire a part-time youth worker/pastor to assist with our youth program.  Please consult the job description below if interested.

Youth Worker Job Description

June King's Herald

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King's Herald-June 2016

Annual Mother's Day Concert: Saturday, May 7th at 7 PM

40 Days of Prayer to begin on Ash Wednesday

The Venango County Joint Ministerium is once again sponsoring 40 Days of Prayer beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 10th, followed by prayer at a different location with a locally focused topic for the next 39 days, culminating with a service of praise at Cranberry High School on Palm Sunday.  People are encouraged to attend as many of the services as they are able to, and to participate at home, by themselves or with family and friends, when not able to attend by praying for the need of the day's topic in our county.  The booklets we will be utilizing for these days of prayer are available through your local church, or by contacting Fishermen's Net at 437-5355, or by purchasing the app on your smartphone.

 2/10- Children, Grace Lutheran of Franklin 7 PM

2/11 Homeless, 1st Baptist of Franklin 7 PM

2/12 Women, St. Stephens of Oil City, 7 PM

2/13 Single People, Christ Episcopal of Oil City 2 PM

2/14 International Visitors, Hasson Heights Presbyterian of Oil City, 4 PM

2/15 Gangs, Abundant Life Fellowship, Franklin 7 PM

2/16 Marriages, Christ UMC of Franklin 7 PM

2/17 Sick People, The Caring Place of Franklin 7 PM

2/18 Educators, Seneca UMC 7 PM

2/19 Health Care Workers, Franklin Alliance 7 PM

2/20 Ministries, Fishermens Net @ Grace UMC of Oil City 8:30 AM

2/21 The Poor, First Church of the Nazarene, Franklin 6 PM

2/22 Refugees, Grace UMC Oil City 7 PM

2/23 Pastors, Victory Heights United Brethren 11 AM

2/24 Prisoners & Families, St. John's Episcopal of Franklin 7 PM

2/25 College Students, Venango SEED, Robert Rhoades Center @ Venango Campus 3:15 PM

2/26 Physically Disabled, 1^st Church of God of Oil City 6:30 PM

2/27 Mothers, ABC Life Center @ 1^st Baptist of Franklin 11 AM

2/28 Gov't Leaders, Galloway UMC 6 PM

2/29 News Media, Salvation Army Church of Franklin, 1 PM

3/1 Orphans, 1st Church of God, Franklin Noon

3/2 Business People, Heckathorn UMC 1 PM

3/3 Men, Cornerstone Bible, Oil City 7 PM

3/4 Native Peoples, East Grove UMC Noon

3/5 Judges & Law Enforcement, Church of the Nazarene, Oil City 3 PM

3/6 Unemployed, 1^st Presbyterian of Oil City 6:30 PM

3/7 Youth, Youth for Christ, Seneca

3/8 Substance Abusers, Celebrate Recovery @ Free Methodist of Oil City 7 PM

3/9 Depressed People, Free Methodist Church of Siverly 7:30 PM

3/10 Fathers, Victory Heights United Brethren, 7 PM

3/11 Agricultural Workers, Seneca UMC 7 PM

3/12 Arts & Entertainment, 1st UMC Franklin

3/13 The Military, Grace UMC of Rocky Grove 7 PM

3/14 Broken Families, Fox St. Church of God, Rocky Grove 2 PM

3/15 Laborers, 1^st Presbyterian of Franklin 2 PM

3/16 Athletic Industry, Trinity UMC of Oil City Noon

3/17 Ethnic Communities, Calvary UMC Oil City Noon

3/18 The Unborn, ABC Life Center @ Christ UMC of Franklin 7 PM

3/19 Elderly People, Oakland UMC 11 AM

3/20 Palm Sunday, The Coming Generation, Cranberry HS 7 PM

Franklin Community Thanksgiving Service

The video below is from the annual Franklin Community Thanksgiving Service held at First Baptist on the 24th and sponsored by the Franklin Christian Ministerium.  The format of the service was to praise God in prayer for the attributes of God as outlined in the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22, followed by five mini-sermons from Psalm 118:1, "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."  Interspersed with the prayer and preaching is congregational singing.  Much thanks to all who participated, including ten other local pastors.

Fourth Annual Victorian Christmas Concert, December 19th

Fourth Annual Victorian Christmas Concert

 Saturday, December 19^th at 7 PM

First Baptist Church of Franklin

1041 Liberty St.

Featuring vocalists Kevin Downey & Brianna (Steves) Erdman.  Special guests include Dennis Geib, Nicholas Nasibyan, and Franklin's very own rising star, Tyler Carson, as they combine to deliver a full concert of Christmas show-stoppers. 

This is a free concert, with donation proceeds to benefit Mustard Seed Missions of Venango County.

Message from Missionaries Steve and Melinda Moffit

Recently retired missionaries Steve and Melinda Moffit spoke at our annual fall meeting about the lessons learned during twenty-one years of service in Nairobi, Kenya with African Inland Mission's AIR division.  Steve and Melinda provided logistical support for missionaries working in the field.  First Baptist Church is proud of their service for the Gospel, and grateful for the sacrifices they made on the behalf of the Church to help spread the Gospel's message of salvation to all peoples.

Baptism at First Baptist

On Sunday we welcomed a new young person into the church through the ordinance of Baptism.  Ruthie Rangle made her public profession of faith and was baptized and accepted into membership.

First Baptist has three graduates

My apologies for not getting these pictures off my iphone sooner, but this past June we had three graduates from the church.  Jeff and Jennifer Lewis, and Victoria Stachelrodt.  We're proud of you guys!

In back LtoR: Jennifer, Jeff Jr. Amanda, Sandy Lewis
In front: Jeff Sr. Lewis

Randy, Victoria, and Pennie Stachelrodt

Seven baptisms, thirteen total new members, Hallelujah

This past Sunday, First Baptist was blessed with the addition of thirteen new members to our congregation, seven of them through the waters of baptism.  It will be a day long remembered among our church family as these new pieces of the body of Christ grow and mature into tomorrow's pillars and leaders.  God has been good to us, as the pastor of this church, I'm proud to be tell people that I meet that the church that I am the pastor of is the First Baptist Church of Franklin.

Those who were baptized in order, were: Shelly Burchanowski, Parke Haskins, Rylan Haskins, Evan Wolfgong, Alyssa Paden, Abbie Seely, and Josie Seely.

To watch the baptism video, click on the link below:

This is a free concert, no tickets necessary, with a love offering taken to help the artists defray their expenses.  For directions to the church, please click on the Guest Information tab at the top of the website.  Temple Veil is a contemporary Christian duo, to hear a sample of their music, visit their website: www.templeveil.com

The LORD is my shepherd, all of my days.

Jo Beach has been a member of First Baptist for over 80 years, now in her 96th year, she is holding First Baptist's newest addition, Pastor Powell's daughter, Clara Marie, born this past April.

ABCOPAD continues to support 1st Baptist's efforts with Mustard Seed Missions

ABCOPAD, the American Baptist Churches of Pennsylvania and Delaware, has been very supportive of our ecumenical efforts to help those in need through Mustard Seed Missions of Venango County.  They have published some of Pastor Powell's musings on the organization in their newsletter and posted pictures of our work sites on their blog.  Always great to have support from the regional pastors for the local work that we're involved in, much thanks in particular to pastors, Mark Mahserjian-Smith, Jeffrey Johnson, and Frank Frischkorn from the regional staff for their encouragement, God bless you guys.

To view the blog posting from the ABCOPAD website click on the link below:
ABCOPAD blog

To view the newsletters with Pastor Powell's writing on MSM, click on the link below, the issues with the articles are October, November, and December of 2014.
ABCOPAD newsletter homepage

Pastor Powell's work with Mustard Seed Missions featured in ABCOPAD newsletter

The recent ABCOPAD (American Baptist Churches of Pennsylvania and Delaware) newsletter featured an article written by Pastor Powell about his work with Mustard Seed Missions.  To check out the newsletter, click on the link below, the article is on page 5.

ABCOPAD newsletter