September 2016

First Baptist Church Bozeman

As I sit here in my office, searching for words that will capture our current moment as a church, I am realizing that the answer lies just outside my window. As I write, I’m being bombarded by the sounds of construction – heavy machinery, cement being hammered, cars being detoured – and realizing that this is our current reality…we are under construction. We are, as a church, being remade – by God and by our willingness to change and transform – into a new sort of community. The hope is that all churches are always changing and growing, and yet First Baptist Bozeman seems to be especially steeped in a construction project (and I don’t just mean our front steps!). We are rebuilding our membership and our budget. We are re-crafting our mission statement and vision for the future. We are remolding our style of ministry and interaction with the larger community. We are literally creating a new church culture, and in the process, constructing a new hope for our church.

And so my response is two-fold. First, I want to sincerely thank you all for your willingness to be re-constructed. To change. To grow. To risk. I couldn’t be happier to be on this journey. You could have folded

it up. You could have thrown in the towel. You could have rested on your laurels and gone to a comfortable death. And yet, you’ve chosen to take a leap of faith, to trust that God is not done with us yet, and to work together for the furthering of God’s kingdom, here in this place. Well done.

But secondly, I want to encourage us to continue to press forward into this re-construction process. It will take time and energy and will not come easy. But I truly believe that we are on the right track and it will be worth the effort. And that is why we will continue to lean further into our mission as a church – to love God, to know each other, and to serve the world. Everything we are planning for this fall is directly tied to this mission, so I strongly encourage you to plug into the community and ministry of this beautiful church. And let’s see if God can’t reconstruct something beautiful out of this broken mess.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jason

Constructing a New Reality

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The Rock ReportCelebrating a Decade- Gary Cook

How do you honor ten years in a few paragraphs? I’m going to try some lists.

Klein and Karen. Lynn and Dave. Aaron and Dale. Bob and Renee. Becca. Scott.

Chris. Gary and Tammy. Emily. Alison. Jason. John. Four FBC pastors and three interim pastors.

Volunteers too numerous to even remember, let alone list. You know who you are. Thank you one and all!

First Baptist Church’s solid commitment to The Rock’s mission over the past decade, most recently affirmed by your generous donation to help us continue for the next decade. Thank you!

Chief Joseph Middle School and Bozeman High. Four principals. The first seniors who came to The Rock are now 28 years old. The first sixth graders from Chief Joseph who came to The Rock are now 22 years old.

An average of 100 student visits per day, times 180 school days, times 10 years, equals 180,000 student visits. Or, to put it another way, three thousand six hundred pizzas. Or so. Love all. Serve all.

And what happened? Life. Death. Fights. Tears. Hurts. Divorces. Drugs. Discipline. Safety. Laughter. Conversations. Music. Parties. Picnics. Food. Fun. Films. Early mornings. Late nights. Young Life. Youth groups. Partnerships. Conferences. Camps. Clubs. Coffee. Open Mic Nights. Worship. Illuminate. Graduations. Baccalaureates. Reunions. Faculty/staff luncheons. Prayer. Bible studies. Friendships. Marriages. Forgiveness. Grace. Conversions. Commitments. Care. Charity. Benevolence. Offerings. Service. Mission. Work. Gratitude. Faith. Hope. Love.

To borrow an agricultural phrase from Clarence Jordan, The Rock has been “a demonstration plot for the Kingdom of God.”

Even as we remember, we also look ahead. To launch The Rock into the next decade, the board has decided to have a Tenth Anniversary Celebration to be held October 3-7. Planning is underway, but we will need help. And we’ll keep you up to date.

It’s been a great ten years. And, God willing, the next decade will be great, too!

Family Promise - Grace Holiday

Update on CJ ! He took a position on the Idaho State University faculty as an instructor and academic coach (teaching some biology classes and

advising students as a part of the Student Success Center). Annie started a job a couple of weeks ago working in research and development at Melaleuca in Idaho Falls. She is really enjoying that

We will be hosting Family Promise at our church starting the week of Sept 4, so please let me know as soon as possible if you’d like to volunteer.

Mission Moment- Pastor Jason

Mission and outreach is a funny business. You can try all sorts of new things – and we have throughout this past year – and never really know what’s making a difference and what might result in lives being changed. We, as a church, have done quite a few things over the past year to branch out into our community with the love and good news of Jesus – things like parenting workshops and pancake breakfasts, small groups and picnics in parks. And while all of these ministries and events have been meaningful and worthwhile, we have yet to see the result of church growth.

But then we’ve done some things that seemed like the right thing to do but didn’t seem like activities that would help grow a church – like preaching at a community Good Friday service and participating in downtown Vacation Bible School. And low and behold…people have come.

Which is another way of saying, ‘we have no idea what we are doing and we are not in control of the outcome!’ And we really aren’t. I’ve been reminded, recently, that we can do our best and work our hardest to plant seeds of Kingdom growth, but God is the one who brings forth the harvest. Our church will continue to do mission and reach out to the greater community, but we are not responsible for growing this church – God is. We are simply called to be faithful. To serve. To be on mission wherever we go. And to trust that God will be actively working to bless our efforts. And praise God for that…because we sure as heck don’t know what we are doing!

On Mission Together, Pastor Jason

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by the Gilhousen Family Foundation. These funds will come from the URF. The Leadership Team will discuss with The Rock Board ideas for tracking the proposal goals and the fundraising efforts.

The Leadership Team received a proposal for resurfacing the exterior front steps from Johnny Angel with Rocky Mountain Hard Rock Flooring which is based in Billings. The front steps would be covered with a “Rock Carpet” which contains small pieces of gravel in an epoxy base. It would require a waterproof coat on the concrete steps below the rock layer. The cost estimate for the project will be at least $11,800, probably a bit more because of some additional requests on our part. The front step proposal will be discussed and voted on at the Business Meeting on Sunday, August 28. An information packet to describe the proposal was handed out on Sunday, August 21, and mailed to members who were absent that Sunday.

Remember to keep Pastor Jason, the church, and The Rock in your prayers daily as we all work together to discern God’s will and direction for FBC and The Rock. Pray that God will help to meet our needs and that we will be a faithful church in all that we do. Also pray for your Leadership Team as they seek God’s wisdom and guidance for FBC. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to speak with Pastor Jason or members of the Leadership Team. Leadership Team members are: Gary Cook, Grace Holiday, Austin Beard, Robin Moore, and Carl Fahlstrom.

The Leadership Team reviewed the First Baptist Church (FBC) financial report for July at our meeting on August 3. The Non-Designated General Fund balance as of 7/31/16 was $43,384.30. Pledge & Plate

giving for July was $4,392 (does not include the fifth Sunday offering on 7/31/16). July expenses (General Fund + Escrow Fund contribution) were $4,501 (no Sr. Pastor). Thus we were short $109 in covering our July expenses with the Pledge & Plate giving. July expenses including the Sr. Pastor were $7,872. A transfer of $6,500 was made from the Unencumbered Reserve Fund (URF) to the General Fund to cover Sr. Pastor expenses for July (salary, housing, retirement, health insurance, etc.). The balance in the URF as of 7/31/16 was $551,042.

Becca Syme, Vice President of The Rock Board, attended the Leadership Team meeting on August 3 to present a proposal from The Rock Board to the Leadership Team of FBC. With The Rock’s current resources (remaining funds from last school year, a Gianforte Family Foundation grant, and The Rock Special Offering collected by FBC which is to be matched by the Gilhousen Family Foundation), The Rock Youth Center can open this fall (September-December) without any assistance. However, funds are not available to remain open from January through May of 2017. The Rock Board requested two things from FBC: (1) assistance in hiring a professional grant writer/fundraiser for the fall months to help secure funding for the 2017-2018 school year ($10,000), and (2) funds to secure the 2016-2017 school year so The Rock can retain the current staff and remain open the entire school year ($30,000). The total $40,000 from FBC will be matched by the Gilhousen Family Foundation if given this fall. These funds will allow The Rock to open for the 2016-2017 school year and will enable the execution of a strategic plan to obtain sustainable funding for the future.

This proposal was presented to the FBC congregation at the Business Meeting on August 14 by Becca Syme and Laurel Campbell, Vice President and President of The Rock Board. The congregation voted to approve the donation of $40,000 to The Rock Youth Center this fall so it can be matched

Leadership Team Meeting Report- Robin Moore, Secretary

A Quick Note from Pastor Jason...I can’t believe it’s come so quickly, but I’ve now officially been your senior pastor for a year. And I just need to thank you all for an incredible year. Thank you for loving God and this church enough to keep the doors open. Thank you for taking a risk on a young, inexperienced pastor. Thank you for constantly supporting me and giving me grace as I continue to learn and grow. I remain ever-hopeful that God has something truly magnificent in mind for this church and that he will use us mightily to bless the Bozeman community and further His kingdom in this world. Here’s to another great year.

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Even so, I suspect many of us are more concerned about ideals than a name.

We can rejoice that the best of Baptist ideals have stood firm through the centuries, even in the face of opposition. Freedom of conscience, voluntary faith, equal religious liberty for all, and separation of church and state – great contributions to faith and world alike – are well established in America and spreading globally. Believer’s baptism, the priesthood of all believers, congregational autonomy – foundational principles all, yet constantly evolving and diversely expressed – are as central to the Baptist family as they were four hundred years ago.

Yes, many Baptists today have strayed from these ideals. Yet the convictions remain and the path leads forward. We can stride into the future with confidence amidst the strife that swirls around us.

Finally, four centuries of work also carry us into the future. More than a name on paper, early Baptists put feet to faith in the often dangerous task of securing freedoms of conscience and religion for all, protected by church state separation. In today’s world, our work has progressed far beyond the Western sphere to become truly global.

Along our journey the best of our work has taken the form of fighting for the rights of others, opposing oppression and injustice, and proclaiming the love of Christ near and far, all in the context of striving to be faithful people of God. At times our work has led us to contend with the world; at times we’ve struggled among ourselves. Our work is far from finished.

The paths of our past are even now leading us into our future. We will continue to be ambivalent about the name Baptist, although perhaps to a greater degree. Our ideals, anchored but evolving, will stand firm, if at times controversial, in the marketplaces of faith and world, secured by the diligence of the faithful. Our work will continue, even as our presence tilts more heavily toward the non-Western world and becomes less Anglo-centric.

We will continue down the paths begun by our faith forebears. The Baptist name, ideal, and work will survive in ways connected to the best of our past, because some who bear the Baptist name will remain faithful.

Let us be counted among today’s faithful Baptists, for the sake of the future here in Bozeman and far beyond.

Historians study the past, seeking knowledge along pathways that have led us to the present and carry us into the future. Pinpointing the details of our faith’s future is beyond the scope of historian and preacher alike, yet the four hundred year story of Baptists is blazed with ever-unfolding

trails; Baptists have always been too diverse to stick to only one path! By paying attention to the ground beneath our feet and the landscape beside and behind, we can place in context the future dimensions of our name, our ideals, and our work as a people of faith.

Today, the Baptist name is fading. From large to small, entire organizations and small congregations alike are erasing “Baptist” from their documents, signage, and websites. Many individual Baptists now avoid using the name.

Yet we’ve always struggled with our name. In our infancy in the early seventeenth century, we didn’t know what to call ourselves, nor did our Christian opponents who detested our freedom principles. Anabaptists. Anti-Pedo Baptists. Dissenters. Separatists. Heretics. Dunkers. Trash. We were called all and more. Eventually, “Baptists” stuck. Even so, it was not uncommon for Baptist congregations through the late eighteenth century to avoid the label for fear of violent persecution.

After the persecutions ceased, some still avoided the Baptist name. First Baptist Church of Huntsville, Alabama, for example, a Baptist church since its inception in 1809, did not include “Baptist” in its name during the congregation’s earliest years. In Britain, Charles Spurgeon, the most popular and prominent Baptist preacher in that nation’s history, spent his career pastoring a nineteenth century Baptist megachurch that did not include “Baptist” in its name.

Will our own future witness a continued decline in the use of the name “Baptist”? Yes. And perhaps the trend will accelerate.

Will non-denominationalism overshadow all? The thought is disconcerting, yet not without precedent. In the early nineteenth century, America’s Protestant denominations were just as likely to refer to themselves as Protestants as they were to call themselves Baptists, or Methodists, or Presbyterians, or Episcopalians.

Following Baptist Paths Into the Future - Bruce T. Gourley

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Make sure you sign up for this amazing opportunity to really get to know one another. Contact Pastor Jason or sign up in the back of the sanctuary.

CONNECT 4Community Dinner Groups

FBC Small Group MinistryFall 2016

Photos by Will Moore

Outdoor Ministry Hike: Windy Pass

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