Bay City Baptist Church of Green Bay, WI

The Christian life is not just a race, it’s a relay race. Our faith was handed to us by those who ran before us. Now it’s our turn to run! What is the pivotal point in our race? – The exchange of the baton. The Exchange is a ministry of relational evangelism and discipleship training, utilizing the circle of ministry described in II Tim. 2:2. Our goal is to mobilize believers by teaching them how to form redemptive relationships, lead unbelievers to Christ, disciple those new believers in Spirit-empowered living and train them to give the gospel so that this circle is repeated over and over. The end result is spiritual multiplication and Great Commission living.

Why the name Exchange? This ministry focuses on two exchanges, both involving relationships. God’s command to make disciples involves a man-to-man relationship that builds a man-to-God relationship. Clearly, this necessitates a human side and a divine side. The human side of the exchange is passing the baton of faith in a relational, Gospel-centered manner. The divine side is the marvelous exchange God made possible through His Son, Jesus Christ, Who gave His life in exchange for ours (2 Cor. 5:21). The Exchange Gospel presentation and four-lesson Bible study are built around Who God is and how to have a relationship with Him.  (For further information, please visit www.exchangemessage.org)

We will host The Exchange Evangelism Seminar beginning this Saturday, April 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The seminar will continue Monday through Thursday at 6:30 p.m. If you haven’t already signed up and would like to attend, please contact the church office at (920) 499-5561. The cost is only $20 and includes lunch on Saturday.

We all know that “Jesus died for our sins”. We’ve heard it since we were young and we often times take that for granted without really thinking and understanding what that truly means. Jesus was sinless and perfect in every way. Yet he didn’t just “die” for our sins- he suffered a horrible death for sinners like you and sinners like me.

Thankfully the story doesn’t end there! We celebrate Easter because of His glorious resurrection three days after his death. But here is a thought, what would have happened if His tomb was empty and Mary and Mary heard the angel’s words and then just went home? Is that an example of our Christian lives? Do we go to church every Sunday, hear the Word of God and go home keeping it to ourselves?

This Easter I challenge you to spread the love of God with others. One way to do that is to invite family and friends to our Easter Celebration and Meal. Our celebration service begins at 10:30 a.m. and will include the choir Easter Cantata, The Easter Lily. Immediately following the service, we will begin serving a delicious meal of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, vegetables, rolls and dessert. We feel blessed that God has once again allowed us to continue this outreach. Together we will share God’s love with others!

Ahhh, spring is here! Not that we can complain about our unusually mild winter and our record breaking temperatures we’ve experienced in March! This weather can be confusing to those that are not used to the strange weather that Wisconsin brings! The plants and flowers seem to be confused as well. Not only is there green popping up from the ground, but there are flowers in full bloom…in March…in Wisconsin!

Every spring God gives us the gift of blooming flowers and budding trees. It reminds me of the new birth we received when we gave up our sin-filled lives and accepted Christ into our hearts. Our branches were bare and dormant. But God made us into little buds, that when fed with His Word, bloom into beautiful, fruit-bearing trees.

Perhaps you, or someone you love, haven’t experienced this awesome, life changing event.  Now is the time and you can blossom in your new life in Christ this spring!

It is rummage sale season and  Bay City Baptist School is kicking off the season right! We are holding our annual spring rummage sale this Saturday, March 17,  from 8 a.m.– 3 p.m.  Proceeds from the sale will benefit the junior/senior class trip to Washington D.C. Our families have been bringing in treasures by the armload, but we can still use more! Go through your closets and drawers. You know they say if you haven’t worn it in a year, it needs to go! Gather those items from your garage and basement that aren’t needed any longer and bring them in!

Come to the sale and see what we have!  We are sure to have something you need! We will have a bake sale and will also be selling hot dogs, brats, and concession items. Come out to support our great organization!

Our Annual International Missions Conference kicks off this weekend and will run through Wednesday.  We will again host six missionary families: Ray and Tiffany Anderson- Kewaunee, WI; Daniel and Marieta Tut- Romania; Luke and Jessica Marie- Bolivia; Joseph and Daphne Coates- China; Caleb and Ecko Stein- Peru; and Jodie Clark- Australia.  They will share with us their testimonies and the burden God has placed on their hearts for their various ministries. Our theme for the conference is The Power of the Gospel: At Home and Abroad…”For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth;” Romans 1:16.

The schedule has been devised to allow us the chance to personally get to know each of the missionaries. There are many opportunities to do so with the Men’s Prayer Lunch on Saturday at 11:00 a.m., the Ladies Luncheon on Monday at 12:15 p.m., and each of the deacon’s groups will have a meal with the missionaries.

There will be services on Sunday at our normal times of 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Monday-Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Nursery will be provided. You’ll enjoy music, stories, and messages from the missionaries that will give you a greater love and appreciation for missions. You won’t want to miss it!

March is Christian Education Emphasis month at Bay City Baptist Church! Sure, Christian education comes in the form of Christian schools, but that would also include those families that home school their children.

So, why chose Christian education? God expects children to be taught the truth in every subject. That requires educators to teach the truth from a biblical world view. Some institutions prepare students for a job. Others equip students for life. Only a Christian education has the potential to do both, because only a Christian education is grounded in the knowledge of our Creator, who grants wisdom and understanding to anyone who seeks Him first. “When God is excluded from the classroom, we are not merely remaining silent about God. We are teaching children that they may safely disregard Him.”  Doug Wilson

You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. –Deuteronomy 15:10.

Bay City Baptist would like to thank its faithful thithers and givers by hosting its first ever Stewardship Banquet this Saturday, January 28, beginning at 6 p.m. We will welcome Pastor Larry Wilson as our guest speaker for the banquet as well as during both services on Sunday.

Why should we give our tithes and offerings? We as Christians who love the Lord should desire to give everything to Him. Think of it this way… the tithe is like a gift to the earthly one you love, just a token reminder of their importance to you. Actually, they deserve much more - more than it would be possible to give. Jesus is like that. He deserves more than you or I could possibly give. He is THE ONE you love!

Every life is precious because we are all made in the image of God...

On Sunday, we will celebrate the Sanctity of Life. This Sunday also marks the 39^th anniversary of the devastating Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion or in other words, the legalization of murder. Society continues to play down conception and the fact that “the mass of cells” are actually human life, a life that God has created.

Bay City Baptist Church supports Baptist For Life Wisconsin. B.F.L.W. is a soul winning, pro-life organization made up of Bible-Believing, fundamental separatist Baptist churches and individuals. The Wisconsin ministry was founded in 1990 as a service and resource ministry of Fundamental Baptist Churches that are burdened to become active in the pro-life movement. Their program consists of organizing, motivating, and educating local Baptist churches and individual members to help minister to women who have had or may be considering an abortion. There are four B.F.L.W. pregnancy Care Centers in Wisconsin.

Speaking of pregnancy centers, I ran across this story that was told by professor Pete Tigchelaar of Calvin College as reported first in the Calvin News, on Dec. 18, 2003.

   Tigchelaar tells that he had used a plastic-encased, 3-month-old fetus in his human biology classes. In 2002, a visit from a young woman showed him that the fetus was more than a good educational tool.

   “The young woman told Tigchelaar that a generation earlier her mother had been a student in one of Tigchelaar’s biology classes. Unknown to Tigchelaar this student was three months pregnant on a day he had shown the class the fetus with its tiny fingers, facial features, eyes, outline of a liver and other human features.

   “She had already visited an (abortion clinic),” Tigchelaar recalls the young woman telling him, and was told about the “product of conception” and “contents of the uterus” that she had within her. She was advised to have an abortion and had one scheduled for the following morning.’

   “But after Tigchelaar’s class she realized she had more within her than a ‘product of conception.’ And she canceled her scheduled abortion, continued with her pregnancy and eventually delivered a healthy baby girl.

   “I am that girl,” the student then informed a stunned Tigchelaar. “Thanks for saving my life.”

   “Tigchelaar, at the time, was amazed, speechless. He remembers in a halting voice telling the girl simply that she was beautiful.“Even now,” he says, “I can barely tell the story without breaking up.” Yet tell it he does.

You can see how important our support is. On Sunday, we will take a special offering to help the vital ministry of Baptist For Life Wisconsin. Please look into the eyes of a child, a gift from God, and give generously.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.” Titus 3:5a. That is our memory verse for the first lesson in our new Sunday school class, “Living the Exchange” and it complements the theme of our church this year, which is The Power of the Word.

It is just part of what was shared with the church last week during Vision Sunday. The emphasis this year will be evangelism and sharing our faith with those that sadly don’t know Christ. We each have a love for Christ, but some, like me, need help with learning how to share that love with others. And this twelve week class will guide us.

A possible mission’s trip to the Philippines was also announced. This mission’s trip will not be work related, like the Romania trip was, but will be evangelistic. Plans are still in the works and further details will be released when they become available.

I strongly encourage you to become involved! You will grow spiritually in ways you can't even imagine. Won’t you and your family strive to spread God's Word? 

Happy New Year! And with a new year, comes a new vision for our church! Yes, this Sunday is Vision Sunday! It all starts at 9:30 a.m., during the Sunday school hour, when senior high through adult classes will all meet in the auditorium for a special combined class led by Pastor Brown and will continue through both services.

The theme this year is…..well, you’ll just have to come check it out! It’ll be powerful!