As you might have noted, it has been some time since we’ve posted on the blog. However, this is not without good cause. October was a tremendously busy month for Ruckersville Baptist Church. It was a month filled with fellowship, ministry, and the continued work of restoration. October began with the Extraordinary Women’s conference in Roanoke, Virginia. The men hosted a local retreat in the nearby mountains. We finished the month strong with a successful Trunk or Treat event.
The Extraordinary Women’s conference is one event our ladies look forward to each year. The conference maintained its reputation as an enriching and fun event. We had eight ladies attend the two day event. This year the theme was “embracing powerful peace”. As usual, there was a wonderful line up for speakers; including Chonda Pierce, Karen Ki
ngsbury, Sheri Rose Shepherd, and John Eldredge. Of course the musical worship at a conference involving 7,000 women is tremendous. NewSong and Mercy Me left the ladies singing all the way home. If you missed out on the conference, or even if you attended and desire to keep that spiritual momentum, you can leverage the Extraordinary Women’s resources using their website at http://www.ewomen.net/. The site includes devotionals and an opportunity to sign up for and view the EW digital magazine. Here’s a tidbit for the ladies already thinking about next year’s Extraordinary Women’s Conference. The speaker list includes Candace Cameron Bure, Jennifer Rothschild, Carol Kent, and Lysa TerKeurst, More amazing than the speaker list is the musical line up with Francesca Battistelli and Casting Crowns. Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement for the next opportunity to join in the fun of the Extraordinary Women’s conference.
The men also seized upon an opportunity to enjoy a special men’s retreat. Building on the theme “Growing Disciples”, the men called on special guest speaker Dr. Bill Brown to lead a weekend gathering at a nearby mountain cabin. Dr. Brown is a former professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and present Liberty University professor, where he has taught classes addressing church planting, evangelism, and church administration. Dr. Brown brought the men a practical message with great impact. . The conference exhorted the men to seek out opportunities to deliver the message of Jesus Christ to our community, and more specifically the men of the community. “The world will never believe you love them inside the walls of the church if you do not love them outside the walls of the church”. Of course, we recognized the people best equipped to reach men are men. Each man left with a renewed desire to engage the surrounding community by leading a ministry using individual God given passions.
Finally, in October the church enjoyed the opportunity to host our annual Trunk or Treat. We had a number of church members decorate their vehicles to distribute donated candy. It is wonderful to report over one-hundred and twenty five children visited the church for the event. Along with lots of candy, each child also received literature sharing the message of the Bible. This, in combination with the wonderful decorations and costumes, made the event a fabulous success. The work of our church members allowed our surrounding community to enjoy a safe holiday celebration while witnessing the church’s desire to be a great neighbor. It is also a wonderful statement that our church and its ministries have not been hindered by the damage to our building.
With October coming to a close you can count that the remaining months of fall, filled with holiday celebrations, will be just as busy. Keep your eyes peeled on the blog for news of upcoming ministry and fellowship opportunities.
