The Missions Committee seeks to respond to the Great Commission through the budget process of First Baptist Church. The committee recognizes its duty to proclaim the Gospel through both word and deed, beginning with the local community, extending the work of Baptists both at state and national levels, while ultimately reaching out to the world through personal involvement in mission efforts and by providing financial support to individuals and agencies who exemplify Christian mission commitment through their endeavors.

Please contribute to the Global Missions Offering during December.

On Thursday, July 23rd , a team left for the 2009 High School Youth Mission trip to Belize, CA.  The group consisted of 25 members, which included high school youth, adult chaperones and leaders, Ray and Joyce Howell.  Months of preparation went into the initial planning of this trip: meetings, assessing the needs of the area to be served, fundraising (soup lunches and chicken dinners!), shopping for, organizing and packaging supplies, writing and taping puppet show skits, writing and learning songs, etc.  The list goes on and on!  The youth and volunteers worked tirelessly to assure that this trip would be successful.  Many supported this endeavor prayerfully and financially, including the congregation of FBC as well as members of the Lexington community.
The team arrived at the Baptist Training Center Camp Thursday afternoon and began working on two main projects:  conducting VBS at the Santa Elena Baptist Church and painting at King’s Orphanage in Belmopan.  Bible School was held on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and was structured much like it is at FBC.  Youth members used puppet shows to tell the Bible Stories and involved the children with drama.  Songs in music were taught using guitars and a keyboard.  Art involved working on sun-catchers, dispensing salvation and friendship bracelets and painting heart necklaces.  Recreation was a hit, literally, with supervised water balloon ‘fights’, playing Twister, basketball and soccer. The week of VBS was a huge success!  On the first day (Sat) a small number of kids attended, but by Wednesday the number rose to around 100!  Some of the adult Santa Elena Church church members even attended and taught the group new songs!  A special treat was being able to worship with the church, led by Pastor Manny, on Sunday morning.
Visiting and working at King’s Orphanage in Belmopan was a humbling experience. After purchasing the needed supplies, walls in the main TV room were painted to reflect Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night”. Pictures were taken of each child and taped to handmade silver stars, then attached to the newly painted walls for all to see!  How excited and special each child felt to see their picture displayed.  Time was spent just ‘being’ with the kids-listening to their life story as the groups gathered to play games, jump over outside ditches, braid hair and ride piggy-back.
The group also engaged in several other projects.  One afternoon the team revisited the Belmopan village where VBS had been coordinated 4 years ago. Collected toys were distributed to neighborhood kids and several FBC members had the privilege of meeting children that they sponsor for school attendance through Body and Soul Ministries. Work at the Baptist Training camp was done as several bathrooms were painted and kitchen dishes were continuously cleaned!  A highlight for all was spending time with camp directors Eric and Julie Maas and hearing their inspiring testimony and, as usual, it was a blessing to be with old friends, Miss Jane, Henry, Miss Letitia and their families.
As the week drew to a close, the team had time to reflect upon the week and what was accomplished. FBC can be proud of their youth as they are hard working, loving, energetic and delightful young men and women.  Through this trip, they shared the love of Christ and forged friendships that will last a lifetime.  The theme for this trip was “Open the Eyes of My Heart” and it is evident that eyes were opened to other cultures who share the ‘heart’ of Christ.  Serving in Belize as ambassadors for Christ was a great privilege and the FBC Youth look forward to future ministerial activities, both at home and abroad.
To view more photos of the trip, visit the photo gallery.

Imagine trying to celebrate a joyous Christmas if your family is hungry and the pantry is bare.  For sixty families in Lexington and Davidson County, Christmas became more joyous because of the food boxes distributed by First Baptist Church on December 19!

The tradition of FBC Christmas food boxes predates my coming to Lexington 31 years ago.  I remember the years when each Sunday School class was assigned a different commodity – the Lightbearers bought forty 5 pound bags of flour (I could never be sure whether to buy plain or self-rising).  The current plan encourages Sunday School classes and individuals to make cash gifts designated for the food boxes.  The 2008 project was well-planned and flowed smoothly.

Peggy Barnhardt drew on her many community contacts to identify and screen the recipients.  FBC members, hospital staff, and school social workers informed her of potential recipients.

Tommy Wilson placed the master grocery order for sixty each of 5 lb. canned ham, dozen eggs, gallon of milk, etc. – forty-three separate items in each food box!  The total cost of $5,241 ($87 per box) was underwritten by designated offerings!

Peggy supervised a team of volunteers who sorted the food items into the family boxes, each with a green FBC shopping bag and a greeting card, ready for delivery. 

Recipients who had transportation picked up their boxes at the fellowship hall.  For the sake of privacy, the school social workers delivered the boxes to their families.  Any remaining boxes were delivered by FBC volunteers, with a prayer that they would be received as gifts of grace.

A school social worker commended the project for two very important features:  (1) The quantity, quality, variety and nutritional value of the food is unsurpassed.  (2) Our food boxes can be matched with the efforts of many other churches that provide clothing and toys so that the recipient families can have a complete Christmas.

If you helped make these food boxes possible, THANKS!  If you haven’t participated, you will want to in December 2009.
 

On Dec. 9, 17 FBC members participated in a volunteer mission project at the Operation Christmas Child processing center in Charlotte.  As a follow-up to the local shoebox ministry, these church members, consisting of a few first-time volunteers, were eager to participate in the Samaritan’s Purse shoebox ministry at the processing level.  This mission project is always such a blessing to the volunteers that several church members take a vacation day from work every year in order to experience the joy of giving that this ministry offers in the name of Christ.
After the shoeboxes are collected each year in early November, they are sent to one of the six processing centers that look and feel like giant Christmas workshops.  The Charlotte warehouse was piled high with brightly wrapped shoebox gifts.  The volunteers opened each box, inspected the contents for safety, taped the lid to the box, and packed the boxes in large cartons, sorted by gender and age group.  The gifts received their finishing touches in a warm, cheerful atmosphere, ready for their journey overseas.  The boxes processed on Dec. 9 were sent to India.
Last year almost 8 million OCC shoeboxes were sent to children in over 100 countries, and an estimated 1.8 million shoeboxes went through the Charlotte warehouse during the Christmas season.  Many of the children who  received these shoeboxes have been abandoned, live in poverty, or suffer because of war and disease.  Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham encouraged prayer for the millions of children who received shoebox gifts from Operation Christmas Child. 
Please pray that the children who received OCC shoeboxes will know that they are loved by God.  In so many ways, Operation Christmas Child is life-changing for everyone involved.  The shoeboxes don’t just contain toys and candy.  There is reconciliation and healing in these boxes for the people who pack them as well as for the families that receive them.  We sent children around the world the precious gifts of hope and love. 
To see more photos, visit the Photo Gallery.

Many mission causes in North Carolina receive First Baptist support through our contributions to the Missions Resource Plan of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina.

Members of First Baptist have a long-standing relationship with their fellow Baptists in the country of Belize, Central America. For almost 18 years, teams have been traveling from Lexington to the Baptist Training Center near Belmopan, the country's capital, to aid in strengthening Christian work. (Click here to read the latest newsletter about happenings in Belize).

Many have worked to construct the camp's buildings, while others have conducted Bible studies for adults and children in the surrounding churches. A joint effort with CBF of North Carolina trains Belizean pastors.

In addition, members of First Baptist Church contribute widely to other mission causes throughout the world, including a special interest in Southeast Asia.