This last Sunday was a terrific day for several reasons.

The Easter program presented by our Celebration Choir truly led us in worship of the King of Kings! In fact, every aspect of the service was worshipful and a tremendous blessing. I want to thank Wayne, Becky, and the choir for doing a wonderful job leading us in worship.

Last Sunday was also the first Sunday with our new schedule. Everything went off without a hitch. I want to thank all our ushers, greeters, and Connection Center volunteers who helped welcome everyone. We would like to increase our number of volunteers to help greet folks every Sunday. We would welcome men, women, youth, and older children, If you are interested in helping out, speak with our Deacon Chairman, Stanley Jones.

Last Sunday's crowd was great, too! As you can see from the report in this edition of The Messenger, we had a good crowd for worship last Sunday. Some of those in attendance were here simply for the choral program, but still, a large number of home folk were here to worship the Lord together. It was good.

But perhaps even more significant was the attendance for Bible study in our Connection Groups. We probably had 20 more in attendance than we have been having recently. It was good to see. And some of those who I encouraged to stay for Bible study last Sunday told me that were going to see how they might arrange their Sunday schedule to start attending. I hope they do.

During this Easter season, we celebrate our Lord's resurrection and the fact that we serve a living Savior. But this is not just something to celebrate during the Easter season, but every season of the year.

In this Easter season we are in we have embarked on a season of change at First Baptist Church, I am glad that we have responded with obedience to the call of our living Savior who we believe has spoken to us about the change we began last Sunday; and I am glad that He will continue to direct and guide us as we navigate the course He has us on together as a church family.

These are exciting days!

Let's keep believing in God and in one another,

Pastor Dave

OUR STAFF - Dr. Dave McFadden, Lead Pastor

Garnet Blaney, Youth Pastor Sara Keller, Children’s Ministry Director

Wayne Anderson, Worship Pastor LeeAnn Hersey, Secretary

Misty Blaney, Financial Secretary Preston Lenard, Custodian

Ronnie Johns, Assistant Custodian

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Apr. 16th– Apr. 22nd, 2017

The Trustees Committee is accepting applications for scholarships for next school year from high school seniors, who are also church members. Come by the Connection Center or the office to pick-up an application. The deadline to submit an application is May 1st.

Qualifications for Applicants: *Must be a member of First Baptist, Portales NM. *Must have a GPA of 2.7 or higher. * Must carry a minimum of 12 hours per semester.

We are looking for volunteers for Meals on Wheels for the month of May!! If you can help in any way during the month of May, please sign up at the Connection Center or you are welcome to call the church office to sign up.

Mega Sports Camp will be here in just two short months. Sign up early for your favorite sport. Sign-Ups begin April 17th! You can register at the Connection Center or on the website. You can also sign-up to volunteer at the connection center.

Annual Memorial Day Celebration will be held on Sunday, May

28th at 5:00 PM in Fellowship Hall. Bring a snack to share if you

want. After you have filled up on cake, stay and enjoy some great

fellowship with an evening of playing some games with friends.

Bring your favorite game to share! Sign-up to bring a cake and

decorate a table for a month. Sign-up will be at the Connection

Center. If you would like more information, speak with Dee Teal.

Goal: Received: Mission Partnerships (23%) - $ 5,750.00 $ 355.34 International Missions (20%) - $ 5,000.00 $ 730.60 Baptist Children’s Home (15%) - $ 3,750.00 $ 2,633.70 North American Missions (10%) - $ 2,500.00 $ 1,448.80 Mission New Mexico (10%) - $ 2,500.00 $ 280.80 Student Scholarships (8%) - $ 2,000.00 $ 116.64 Mission Trip (4%) - $ 1,000.00 $ 108.32 Ramp Up (2%) - $ 500.00 $ 72.90 Adopt-A-School (2%) - $ 500.00 $ 232.90 FBC Food Pantry (2%) - $ 500.00 $ 372.90 World Hunger (2%) - $ 500.00 $ 43.74 Prayer Outreach Ministry (2%) - $ 500.00 $ 79.16 TOTAL: $25,000.00 $ 6,367.48

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Apr. 2nd: Apr. 2nd:

1st Service: 100 218 2nd Service: 76 Nursery: 17 26 Worship Total: 193 244

Connection Groups: 164 181 AWANA Count:

Clubbers: 28 Leaders: 15

Calendar of Events for the week:

Sunday (Apr. 16th) Celebration Worship- 9:30 AM

Connection Groups - 10:45 AM

Monday (Apr. 17th) Prayer Mtg (Mary Watts home) - 10:00 AM

Prayer Ministry Team Mtg. - 5:15 PM

Tuesday (Apr 18th) Women In The Word- 9:30 AM

Celebrate Recovery- 5:30 PM

Wednesday (Apr. 1th) Praise Team Practice - 6:00 PM

Truth Project - 6:00 PM

Choir Practice- 6:00 PM

Arnold, Vera - in Heartland Banister, Gabby– recovering from surgery Brooks, Cyndi– at home, in rehab to gain strength Celebrate Recovery Collins, Dave and Iva - at Wheatfields, in Clovis Comer, Aulana - ovarian cancer Degroot, Gina– had brain tumor surgery on Mar. 9th Dodd, Eliza - continued prayers Eminger, Randy - lung cancer Garcia, Adlyn - 2 year old with head trauma from car accident Gonzales, Chachi - lupus, on dialysis Hinton, James– Colon Cancer Littlejohn, Marie - taking chemo Massey, Kevin - cancer Mendoza, Mary– broken foot Nation, Leo - cancer Spalding, Barbara-health concerns Tinsley, Sharon– at home, gaining strength Tipton, Dottie - healing in her legs Turner, Shelley - cancer Wells, Billie - at home, gaining strength with physical therapy Whatley, Lisa– breast cancer

Pray for Our Mission Partners

Pioneer Bible Translators- Lindy Pate Albuquerque Missionary to Muslims- PJ Dairy Ministry - Raul Ornelas, Chaplain Slovenia- Randy & Joan Bell Pregnancy Resource Center Rio Church plant, Rio Rancho, NM-Bryne Palmer Church plant, Norman, Oklahoma- Matthew Beasley

Help in the sound booth during worship. If interested, speak to Garnet.

We need an assistant leader for 4th-6th grade during Connection Group time. They'd help with large group time & lead a small group. Speak with Sara if interested.

We are needing volunteers to work with Infants and 1 year olds during Celebration Worship. If you are

Celebrate Recovery meets

every Tuesday night.

Meal: 5:30 pm

Worship: 6:00 pm

Small Groups: 7:00 pm

Apr. 11th Attendance: 36

Budget Required YTD: $ 151,599.75 Budget Received YTD : $ 138,545.71 (+/-): -13,054.04 Budget : Apr. 2nd: $ 6,969.83 April Total: $ 22,767.40 Apr. 9th Designated: $ 1,152.00 April Total Designated: $ 4,155.76

There will be a mission team meeting on Sunday, April 23rd at 3:00 PM.

Kelsey Johns is selling RADA Cutlery to help fund her mission trip to New York. Please contact her if you are interested in ordering from her catalog. Her number is 749-9872.

National Day of Prayer will be held at Calvary Baptist Church on May 3rd at 6:30 PM Make plans to attend this special service and to pray for our Nation.

Quarterly Business Meeting and Potluck is approaching quickly. We will be having a potluck and business meeting on Sunday, April 30th. Mark this date on your calendar!!