December 2nd, 2024
by Chuck Harrison
by Chuck Harrison
PBA NETWORK NEWS - November 2024
ANNUAL MEETING RECAP
Our Annual Meeting took place on Tuesday, October 29th at Orcutt Baptist Church. The Business Session was at 3:30 PM. In that meeting, messengers approved a 2025 Budget of $214,089. This budget represents a small increase of $2007 over the 2024 Budget.
Messengers also elected the following officers for 2025:
Moderator – Yulanda Humphries, Buckroe Baptist Church
Vice Moderator – Jay Russ, Stevens Memorial Baptist Church
Treasurer – LaMonte Williams, Freedom Life Church
Assistant Treasurer – Dan Gaske, Walnut Hills Baptist Church
Clerk – Susan Gaske, Walnut Hills Baptist Church
Assistant Clerk - Hsiaopei (Rose) Chang, PBA Staff
We also received reports from our PAL Lodge Study Group (see below), and our Prayer and
Listening Sessions (also see below).
Our Worship Celebration was at 6 PM. Our theme was “Speak Lord for Your Servant is Listening” from First Samuel 3:9. The theme was drawn from our year long effort to listen to our people and to listen to God. This effort was supported by six “Prayer and Listening Sessions” throughout the year.
Musical worship was led by the Orcutt Baptist Church Worship Team. David Peppler of Peptalk Ministries shared about God’s Call for every believer. We invited David to our meeting to sell and sign copies of his new book “Discerning God’s Puzzling Call for Every Believer”. David is available to come speak to churches. Copies of this book and his previous book “Healthy Endings, A Leader’s Journey through a Church Legacy Transition” are available directly from David at peptalkministriesllc@gmail.com or from outlets such as Amazon.
Our PBA Ministerial Staff also shared what they are hearing from God. We will continue this effort to seek a new vision from God in the coming months.
We want to thank Pastor Ben Caldwell, along with the staff and members of Orcutt Baptist
Church for providing a welcome atmosphere for our meeting!
NEW WEBSITE
We are continuing to develop a new website for the PBA. To see our work so far, please click on www.thepeninsulanet.org. Check in regularly as we will continue to update the site! Many thanks to Dillon Evans, Pastor of Gloucester Point Baptist Church for developing the site.
UPDATING PAL LODGE FACILITIES
Based on report from a study group, the consensus of the PBA Leadership Team and the annual meeting attendees is that significant updating of the PAL Lodge at Eagle Eyrie should occur, with main updating in bathroom/shower areas.
Pending costs and availability of contractors, we hope by next spring to have:
• Installed 7 private, sliding-door shower stalls / dressing areas.
• Converted toilets to Americans with Disabilities Act compliant heights.
• Made one of the toilet stalls wheelchair accessible.
• Updating of lampshades, curtains, light fixtures, and electrical outlets may also be
undertaken.
To facilitate future use of our “new” PAL Lodge, a reminder that, when you register your intent to attend an event at Eagle Eyrie, you may designate on the registration form: your desire to stay in a lodge as your first choice, check “Owner Basis”, and that you are from Peninsula Baptist Association, in order to receive a reduced lodging fee.
PASTOR’S FELLOWSHIP
Our next Pastor’s Fellowship will be held on Wednesday, November 20th at 12 noon at the PBA Resource Center. Lunch will be free, as usual. Our “guest speaker” will be our own Brian Williams (pastor of Ivy Memorial Baptist Church) who will share about a project he has been working on for the past few years. “Co-Vocational Church” may be a new idea to you:
• It is a refocusing of the vision of the church away from a sharp distinction between
“clergy” and “laity”.
• It is a focus on the collective gifts within each congregation.
• It is a focus on the mission of the church.
• It is a focus on a multi-leader model.
If you plan to attend, please contact us so we can plan appropriately for lunch.
UPCOMING OFFICE CLOSURES FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Our regular office hours are Monday – Thursday from 9 AM to 3 PM. We will be closed on
Monday, November 11th for Veteran’s Day. We will also be closed November 27th
- 28th for Thanksgiving. Then we will be closed December 23rd-30th for Christmas, and December 31st
and January 1st for New Years.
PBA LISTENING SESSIONS THEMES
1. FEELING ISOLATED FROM ONE ANOTHER (both churches and pastors).
• Some churches have made connections with other like-minded local ministries and
churches but not usually with other PBA churches.
• Geographical distances and different church “personalities” contribute to this.
• Additional comments:
o What things can we do together to help us build better relationships with one
another and our churches?
o Do we want to get to know one another or to just make contacts without having
to build relationships?
o Are we doing enough to really get to know each other so God can build his
kingdom?
o We have to be more intentional about this.
2. WE ARE LACKING A UNIFIED IDENTITY. “Who are we?” Our name should reflect our identity.
• Improve our website.
• Provide resources online.
• Provide more opportunity to put the churches in the same room (as we are doing with the
Listening Sessions).
• Tell our story(s) better (through outlets such as the website and newsletter).
3. WE TEND TO CONNECT WITH THE PBA WHEN OUR CHURCHES NEED SOMETHING (i.e. the Fun Trailer, Pastor Search Process, support as a new Church Plant).
4. WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF CONNECTING WITH THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF OUR CHURCHES (possibly use tools such as “Asset Mapping” together).
5. WE MUST BE WILLING TO LISTEN TO JESUS AND TO DO WHAT HE WANTS US TO BE DOING.
As a result of all we have heard through our listening sessions and other efforts, we will form a team to work with the staff on proposing changes and refocusing for our network of churches.
ASSET BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Notes from Mike Mather, “Awakening the Power of Families and
Neighborhoods”
As a local church imagine …
1. 2. 3. 4. Treating all of our neighbors as people deeply loved by God. We believe all people are deeply loved by God, so we expect institutions that serve them to treat them accordingly.
Institutions often ignore the people of the neighborhood as anything other than recipients
of their services, viewing them as people to be fixed, people in need, people who are
empty. While this perspective may not reflect their true feelings about people, it captures
their practice. We need to focus more on what’s strong, not what’s wrong in the
community.
Helping organizations shouldn’t stop providing their services, but they can treat the
recipients as if they have something valuable to offer to the world and to their community.
They could ask people, “What three things could you teach that you already know? What
would you like to learn from your neighbors?” Only ask these questions if you are
committed to doing something concrete in response. In other words, we could treat people
with respect and greet them with loving curiosity.
Activating and building upon the gifts of our neighbors. We are committed to identifying
the gifts, capacities, talents, dreams, and passions that people have, and to invest in them.
We expect institutions to acknowledge the gifts of the people they “serve,” and to find
some way to utilize those gifts. If the people who are being served are the first people
involved in the effort, then it has a good chance of being something that those people being served really want (and might use!). “Nothing about (or for) me, without me!”
We need to consider giving up our pet projects being done for our neighbors by us without
their participation. This is harder to accomplish and time consuming, so we need to start
small and build upon what happens. Then we could celebrate it and talk about it to
encourage others.
Investing first in the good the people of the neighborhood seek. Doing things for people
and involving neighbors in what “we” (as institutions) do hasn’t been effective. Maybe we
could experiment with ways to invest in the good things our neighbors are doing before we
ask them to be involved in what we are doing. Maybe we could ask, “How can we be
involved with people?” before asking, “How can we get people involved in what we are
doing?“
Practicing Hospitality It’s easier to talk with others when you share meals together.
It’seasier to get to know one another around a dinner table than a conference table. What
are some ways to gather for meals together in our homes and our neighbor’s homes, yards,
cul-de-sacs?
SENIOR ADULT EVENT
Stevens Memorial Baptist Church will be hosting a Senior Adult Rally on Thursday, December 5th, from 12 Noon to 3 PM. The rally will begin with lunch (cost: $5), and will include lots of fun entertainment including music, games, and quizzes. More information will be coming, but for now save the date and stay tuned. We hope to see you there.
PBA CHURCHES SEEKING PASTORS
We provide this information to assist churches that are seeking a senior pastor. We can only
provide information given to us by churches, so please keep us informed! You may also let us know about other open positions in your church if you would like us to publicize them. Churches currently without pastors:
Buckroe Baptist Church
First Church Ministries
Hornsbyville Baptist Church
Yorktown Baptist Church
PASTOR SUPPLY AND INTERIM LIST
We maintain a list of people willing to “Supply Preach” and/or serve as an Interim Pastor. If you have need of someone to speak or are looking for an Interim Pastor while searching for a pastor, please check out our list on our new website www.thepeninsulanet.org
ANNUAL MEETING RECAP
Our Annual Meeting took place on Tuesday, October 29th at Orcutt Baptist Church. The Business Session was at 3:30 PM. In that meeting, messengers approved a 2025 Budget of $214,089. This budget represents a small increase of $2007 over the 2024 Budget.
Messengers also elected the following officers for 2025:
Moderator – Yulanda Humphries, Buckroe Baptist Church
Vice Moderator – Jay Russ, Stevens Memorial Baptist Church
Treasurer – LaMonte Williams, Freedom Life Church
Assistant Treasurer – Dan Gaske, Walnut Hills Baptist Church
Clerk – Susan Gaske, Walnut Hills Baptist Church
Assistant Clerk - Hsiaopei (Rose) Chang, PBA Staff
We also received reports from our PAL Lodge Study Group (see below), and our Prayer and
Listening Sessions (also see below).
Our Worship Celebration was at 6 PM. Our theme was “Speak Lord for Your Servant is Listening” from First Samuel 3:9. The theme was drawn from our year long effort to listen to our people and to listen to God. This effort was supported by six “Prayer and Listening Sessions” throughout the year.
Musical worship was led by the Orcutt Baptist Church Worship Team. David Peppler of Peptalk Ministries shared about God’s Call for every believer. We invited David to our meeting to sell and sign copies of his new book “Discerning God’s Puzzling Call for Every Believer”. David is available to come speak to churches. Copies of this book and his previous book “Healthy Endings, A Leader’s Journey through a Church Legacy Transition” are available directly from David at peptalkministriesllc@gmail.com or from outlets such as Amazon.
Our PBA Ministerial Staff also shared what they are hearing from God. We will continue this effort to seek a new vision from God in the coming months.
We want to thank Pastor Ben Caldwell, along with the staff and members of Orcutt Baptist
Church for providing a welcome atmosphere for our meeting!
NEW WEBSITE
We are continuing to develop a new website for the PBA. To see our work so far, please click on www.thepeninsulanet.org. Check in regularly as we will continue to update the site! Many thanks to Dillon Evans, Pastor of Gloucester Point Baptist Church for developing the site.
UPDATING PAL LODGE FACILITIES
Based on report from a study group, the consensus of the PBA Leadership Team and the annual meeting attendees is that significant updating of the PAL Lodge at Eagle Eyrie should occur, with main updating in bathroom/shower areas.
Pending costs and availability of contractors, we hope by next spring to have:
• Installed 7 private, sliding-door shower stalls / dressing areas.
• Converted toilets to Americans with Disabilities Act compliant heights.
• Made one of the toilet stalls wheelchair accessible.
• Updating of lampshades, curtains, light fixtures, and electrical outlets may also be
undertaken.
To facilitate future use of our “new” PAL Lodge, a reminder that, when you register your intent to attend an event at Eagle Eyrie, you may designate on the registration form: your desire to stay in a lodge as your first choice, check “Owner Basis”, and that you are from Peninsula Baptist Association, in order to receive a reduced lodging fee.
PASTOR’S FELLOWSHIP
Our next Pastor’s Fellowship will be held on Wednesday, November 20th at 12 noon at the PBA Resource Center. Lunch will be free, as usual. Our “guest speaker” will be our own Brian Williams (pastor of Ivy Memorial Baptist Church) who will share about a project he has been working on for the past few years. “Co-Vocational Church” may be a new idea to you:
• It is a refocusing of the vision of the church away from a sharp distinction between
“clergy” and “laity”.
• It is a focus on the collective gifts within each congregation.
• It is a focus on the mission of the church.
• It is a focus on a multi-leader model.
If you plan to attend, please contact us so we can plan appropriately for lunch.
UPCOMING OFFICE CLOSURES FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Our regular office hours are Monday – Thursday from 9 AM to 3 PM. We will be closed on
Monday, November 11th for Veteran’s Day. We will also be closed November 27th
- 28th for Thanksgiving. Then we will be closed December 23rd-30th for Christmas, and December 31st
and January 1st for New Years.
PBA LISTENING SESSIONS THEMES
1. FEELING ISOLATED FROM ONE ANOTHER (both churches and pastors).
• Some churches have made connections with other like-minded local ministries and
churches but not usually with other PBA churches.
• Geographical distances and different church “personalities” contribute to this.
• Additional comments:
o What things can we do together to help us build better relationships with one
another and our churches?
o Do we want to get to know one another or to just make contacts without having
to build relationships?
o Are we doing enough to really get to know each other so God can build his
kingdom?
o We have to be more intentional about this.
2. WE ARE LACKING A UNIFIED IDENTITY. “Who are we?” Our name should reflect our identity.
• Improve our website.
• Provide resources online.
• Provide more opportunity to put the churches in the same room (as we are doing with the
Listening Sessions).
• Tell our story(s) better (through outlets such as the website and newsletter).
3. WE TEND TO CONNECT WITH THE PBA WHEN OUR CHURCHES NEED SOMETHING (i.e. the Fun Trailer, Pastor Search Process, support as a new Church Plant).
4. WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF CONNECTING WITH THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF OUR CHURCHES (possibly use tools such as “Asset Mapping” together).
5. WE MUST BE WILLING TO LISTEN TO JESUS AND TO DO WHAT HE WANTS US TO BE DOING.
As a result of all we have heard through our listening sessions and other efforts, we will form a team to work with the staff on proposing changes and refocusing for our network of churches.
ASSET BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Notes from Mike Mather, “Awakening the Power of Families and
Neighborhoods”
As a local church imagine …
1. 2. 3. 4. Treating all of our neighbors as people deeply loved by God. We believe all people are deeply loved by God, so we expect institutions that serve them to treat them accordingly.
Institutions often ignore the people of the neighborhood as anything other than recipients
of their services, viewing them as people to be fixed, people in need, people who are
empty. While this perspective may not reflect their true feelings about people, it captures
their practice. We need to focus more on what’s strong, not what’s wrong in the
community.
Helping organizations shouldn’t stop providing their services, but they can treat the
recipients as if they have something valuable to offer to the world and to their community.
They could ask people, “What three things could you teach that you already know? What
would you like to learn from your neighbors?” Only ask these questions if you are
committed to doing something concrete in response. In other words, we could treat people
with respect and greet them with loving curiosity.
Activating and building upon the gifts of our neighbors. We are committed to identifying
the gifts, capacities, talents, dreams, and passions that people have, and to invest in them.
We expect institutions to acknowledge the gifts of the people they “serve,” and to find
some way to utilize those gifts. If the people who are being served are the first people
involved in the effort, then it has a good chance of being something that those people being served really want (and might use!). “Nothing about (or for) me, without me!”
We need to consider giving up our pet projects being done for our neighbors by us without
their participation. This is harder to accomplish and time consuming, so we need to start
small and build upon what happens. Then we could celebrate it and talk about it to
encourage others.
Investing first in the good the people of the neighborhood seek. Doing things for people
and involving neighbors in what “we” (as institutions) do hasn’t been effective. Maybe we
could experiment with ways to invest in the good things our neighbors are doing before we
ask them to be involved in what we are doing. Maybe we could ask, “How can we be
involved with people?” before asking, “How can we get people involved in what we are
doing?“
Practicing Hospitality It’s easier to talk with others when you share meals together.
It’seasier to get to know one another around a dinner table than a conference table. What
are some ways to gather for meals together in our homes and our neighbor’s homes, yards,
cul-de-sacs?
SENIOR ADULT EVENT
Stevens Memorial Baptist Church will be hosting a Senior Adult Rally on Thursday, December 5th, from 12 Noon to 3 PM. The rally will begin with lunch (cost: $5), and will include lots of fun entertainment including music, games, and quizzes. More information will be coming, but for now save the date and stay tuned. We hope to see you there.
PBA CHURCHES SEEKING PASTORS
We provide this information to assist churches that are seeking a senior pastor. We can only
provide information given to us by churches, so please keep us informed! You may also let us know about other open positions in your church if you would like us to publicize them. Churches currently without pastors:
Buckroe Baptist Church
First Church Ministries
Hornsbyville Baptist Church
Yorktown Baptist Church
PASTOR SUPPLY AND INTERIM LIST
We maintain a list of people willing to “Supply Preach” and/or serve as an Interim Pastor. If you have need of someone to speak or are looking for an Interim Pastor while searching for a pastor, please check out our list on our new website www.thepeninsulanet.org
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