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Over 20 Years of Shoeboxes

We here at FBC have been involved in Operation Christmas Child for over 20 years and countless number of children’s lives as well as their families, towns and villages have been changed by simply receiving a shoebox filled with personal items, toys and school supplies as well as going through the program “The Greatest Journey” after they receive their shoebox. This shoebox shows them that someone loves them and cares about them enough to pack this box. This may be the first time a child ever receives a present and possibly the first time he or she has learned how much Jesus loves and cares for them. So with that in mind, my favorite saying around OCC is “The power of a simple shoebox can change the world.” You will never know how this simple shoebox will impact a child’s life.

For the month of April we will be collecting small (and I mean small) toys for our boys and girls. Some suggestions might be cloth dolls for our 2-4 year old girls, small baseballs and footballs for our boys and items they use outside such as jump ropes. These are just a few suggestions. Just remember what you used as a child and let your imagination take it from there. You can leave your donations in the box located in the Welcome Center. Please keep this ministry in your prayers as they distribute these boxes to children around the world spreading the name of Jesus.

Helping Hands Continues to Reach Out

Now that the cold blustery days of winter are hopefully gone, Helping Hands switches out their winter clothing for spring and summer clothing which is always needed. We continue to help those less fortunate who need assistance with food and clothing. Donations of soap, toilet tissue and non-perishable food can either be dropped off at Helping Hands or leaving it in the black container outside the church office. Our numbers are increasing steadily which means we are reaching out and providing assistance. As always, volunteers are greatly needed. We are open Tuesday through Friday from 9AM until noon. So any time you can volunteer would be appreciated. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we help those in Beckley and Raleigh County.

Meet our new Director of Ministries

by Bret Floyd

Both Jessica and I grew up in Oak Hill and graduated from Oak Hill High School. We were both raised in Christian homes and gave our lives to Christ as teenagers. We were high school sweethearts and entered into ministry together first as Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ student leaders in high school and then as youth leaders at Oak Hill Baptist Church. In 2001 we got married. We often joke that we were the first “FCA” couple because our huddle coach married us.

After high school we attended Concord University where I earned my B.S in Education (Social Studies) and Jessica earned her B.S. in Education (English). Jessica took her first teaching job in 2002 as a Gifted Education teacher. She later obtained her Masters in Special Education from Marshall University with certifications in Gifted, Learning Disabilities, Behavior Disorders, and Mental Impairments. She is currently in her 21st year as a Gifted Education teacher. In 2004 I took my first teaching job as a Social Studies teacher at Collins Middle School where I taught for 10 years. I then moved to Oak Hill High School where I taught Senior Civics for the last 9 years.

Throughout our lives we have sought to serve the Lord in any way that we could, wherever we were, and to go wherever He leads us. We were the FCA huddle coaches within our schools ministering weekly to coaches and athletes. I served as the Youth Leader at First Baptist Church Beckley from 2005-2009. God then led us back to our hometown of Oak Hill as the Youth Leaders of Calvary Baptist Church from 2009-2013, and finally to Oak Hill Baptist Church where I have been the Youth Pastor for the past 10 years and Jessica has served as the Children’s Director for the past 6 years.

This summer I was called into full-time ministry with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and left my teaching job of 19 years to pursue God’s plan. Since then, I have stood in awe and amazement at what incredible things that God is doing through this ministry. I am so thankful to be a part of His great work in the hearts of kids and coaches within our schools and communities! I am currently the South-Central FCA director for Raleigh, Fayette, and Nicolas counties.

My greatest work for the Lord, however, begins with the family that God has blessed me with. Our oldest daughter, Jordyn, is 16, enjoys performing in plays, runs cross country and track, and serves the Lord as an FCA leader for Oak Hill High School and is a Sunday school teacher at church. Our oldest son, Noah, is 14, enjoys playing football, soccer, basketball, running track, and is an FCA leader for Oak Hill Middle School. Our youngest daughter, Ryleigh, is 11, enjoys performing in plays, plays basketball and soccer, loves math, reading, and being creative, and serves the Lord by helping in Sunday school and the nursery. Our youngest son, Landon, is 8, and likes to play basketball and soccer, play board games, watch TV, and serves by helping in the nursery at church.

Our family is so excited to begin ministering again at First Baptist Church Beckley! I can’t to see what God has in store!

Join us on Route 66!

by Megan Knight

What We Are Doing Now
During Kid’s Church, the elementary age children have been busy learning about the 66 books of the Bible! We have enjoyed the first few lessons in this series called, Route 66, and are excited to travel further on this journey to know the most important book ever written…God’s Word! Through song, games, and Bible study we have learned the 5 books of the law, the 12 books of history and the 5 books of poetry! Come join us to learn more!

What We Are Looking Forward To
March 4th: Spring Children’s Rally at Parchment Valley
April 1st: Family Easter Event from 1:00-3:00 pm – More details to come! Please be praying for this event! Volunteers will be needed to help! Mark your calendar and start spreading the word!
Camp Cowen: Dates are set for summer camp! See Megan Knight for a flyer and more details! Mark your calendar!

Come Visit the Lizzie Lewis Circle

The Lizzie Lewis Circle continues to meet on the first Thursday of every month at 12:15 p.m. here at the church. We have several mission projects that we continue to support and new project ideas are always welcome. Join us and see what Lizzie Lewis is all about.

Helping Hands Continues to Reach Out

Helping Hands Community Resource Center has continued to be a great resource for families to receive food and clothing on a monthly basis. The needs of our clients continue to grow as the price of everything from milk to bread to meat continues to rise. Every day we get at least one new family reaching out for our services.

We are open Tuesday through Friday from 9AM until noon. Volunteer help is always welcome. Non-perishable food, clothing, bar soap and toilet paper are always needed and can be left in the large black container outside the church office. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to provide the help that they need.

Backpack Ministry: The Need is Great

Spring is almost here but with the mild weather we have had this winter we might think it has already arrived I know we all want to see robins and blooming flowers in our yards but we will just have to wait a little longer. We have gained three new students to our Backpack Ministry in February. The need for food is great for so many children in our area and we are glad to help them in any way we can. We continue to send two breakfast meals, two lunch meals, two dinner meals, a bag of snacks and a loaf of bread to each child every week.

Without your donations of food, money and prayers we could not continue this ministry. Thank God for such kind people. May God bless each one of you.

For the month of March please donate applesauce cups.

Shoeboxes 2023

Upon tracking the final destination of our 2022 shoeboxes , I found that they were delivered to Madagascar which is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa. It is known for its lemurs, baobab trees, vanilla, and pepper. Samaritan’s Purse began delivering Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts to children here in 1993. Since 2010, we have also offered these shoebox recipients our follow-up discipleship program, The Greatest Journey. (Just a little info for you).

In April there will be a gathering of shoebox recipients and OCC volunteers in Florida to celebrate the 200 millionth shoebox distributed. This will be a gathering of people from around the world in celebration of what you have been a part of for over 20 years in spreading the name of Jesus to children around the world. Please pray for the people distributing shoeboxes around the world

We are forging ahead with this year’s collections although donations have been slow. For the month of March we will continue to collect bars of soap and washcloths. Your donations can be placed in the dark blue box in the Welcome Center.

Fellowship

by Pastor Bryan Knight

The month of March seems to usher in our early expectations of spring and summer. We begin to look forward to our vacations, traveling, visiting family and fellowship! Those of us who experience “cabin fever” of the winter we are excited to get back outside with family, friends and our community. The City of Beckley has done an outstanding job planning events nearly every weekend. There are numerous opportunities to take advantage of fellowship. But what does that word mean for a Christian? What’s the biblical view of “fellowship” and how are we to interact with those outside of this “fellowship”?

According to the NASB the first time we see a Hebrew word for “fellowship” is Psalm 55:14, “We who had sweet fellowship together, Walked in the house of God in the throng.” David is writing about someone who has turned against him. Not a stranger, not an enemy, David has experienced deceit from someone he had fellowship with. David refers to this person as a friend, companion, a man his equal. This is obviously a heartbreaking experience for David or anyone else who may have experienced this type of destruction, but the focus here is on the “fellowship” term. It’s סוֹד/cowd—council, assembly, circle of friends. There is also a meaning of intimacy. It’s rooted meaning is in the word yacad, which refers to the laying of a foundation. It’s the idea of building our relationships on a firm foundation.

We then see our first New Testament use in Acts 2:42, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” This Koine Greek word is κοινωνία/koinōnia—fellowship, association, communion. This is obviously connected to the birth of the church. The early church here is exercising absolute “fellowship”, teaching/learning, breaking bread, and prayer. “Christian fellowship, then, is the mutually beneficial relationship between Christians, who can’t have the identical relationship with those outside the faith.” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-fellowship.html)

With March being around the corner and the Spring plans are being made, be on guard with where and with whom you fellowship. The world system belongs to Satan, but the Universal Church belongs to God. Seek out your brothers and sisters in Christ across our communities, state, country and world. Rejoice and fellowship together. Remind each other of that common shared unity, for we are all partakers of the Divine, “what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3)

Fresh Bread Every Week

As winter drags on, we continue to take food bags to our Backpack Children weekly. We send foods like oatmeal and hot cocoa packs to warm their bodies in the winter. Every other week we send them a jar of peanut butter and every week a fresh loaf of bread.

As everyone knows, food prices are going up every day. Last fall I could buy bread at Aldis for 87 cents a loaf. This week I paid $1.29 per loaf. Thank God we have funds to buy what our children need.

Thanks to everyone who has donated money, food and prayers for our Backpack Children. May God Bless each of you!

For the month of February, please continue to donate 12oz. jars of peanut butter.