This site will close in or about 60 days.

I am really pumped about what is coming our way as a church…

Next Monday morning (October 19, 2009) is the start of our Compassion Week. Three things will be taking place this week:

Eastside will be packing meals for Feed My Starving Children at the Home Store and More on 25 south across from Clark Moores Middle School. We are going to pack over 100,000 meals in 10 hours and with 500 volunteers. Any questions about this event…contact Vivian Wallace at vivwallace@gmail.com 

Eastside Family is being asked to participate in fasting. Fasting can take on any form. You can learn more about our partial fast commitment by clicking here. Remember why we are fasting: to position ourselves to hear a word from God. I have now fasted for over 48 hours from Facebook and Twitter.

“ALL IN” HIGH ATTENDANCE SUNDAY is coming up on Sunday, October 25, 2009. Click here to learn more. I am asking everyone to be in attendance on this Sunday morning. I just want to see what it would look like for us to have everyone show up on the same Sunday Morning.

Love and Prayers.

Eat with Non-Christians

We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal, invite a non-Christian friend. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversations. Have cookouts and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture.

Walk, Don’t Drive

If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox or convenience store, walk to get mail or groceries. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, carrying along a 6-pack to share, bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Last night I spent an hour outside gardening with my family. We had good conversations with about four of our neighbors. Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Engage. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet, and some people.

Be a Regular

Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places at the same times. Get to know the staff. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. I have friends at coffee shops all over the city. My friends at Starbucks donate a ton of leftover pastries to our church 2-3 times a week. We use them for church gatherings and occasionally give them to the homeless. Build relationships. Be a regular.

Hobby with Non-Christians

Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try city league sports or local rowing and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons, such as sewing, piano, knitting, or tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.

Talk to Your Co-workers

How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form moms’ groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively non-Christian. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work on mission.

Volunteer with Non-Profits

Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take a Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city. Once a month. You can do it!

Participate in City Events

Instead of playing XBox, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, cleanups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.

Serve Your Neighbors

Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, or fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Get creative. Just serve!

Each year Eastside praticipates in annual church profile which we turn into the Southern Baptist Convention. This profile is affectionally referred to as the “ACP.” The ACP calendar year is September 1 thru August 31st of each year.

Here are the numbers from September 1, 2008 thru August 31, 2009:

Total Members: 600

Baptisms: 32

Other Additions (via letter, statement, etc): 23

Weekly Church Attendance: 300

Weekly Small Group Attendance:312

Undesignated Receipts: $414, 328.00

Designated Receipts: $93,977.00

Cooperative Program Giving: $20,854

Associational Giving: $1,520.00

Other Mission Giving: $49,988.00

Way to go Eastside Baptist Church Family.

Please pray for me as I will be having a crown put on a tooth this morning that has a hair-line crack on it.

My mother-in-law, Eva Reynolds, is 78 and is having a hip replacement at 9:00 am in the morning at Good Sam Hospital in Lexington. She will be in the hospital for at least 4 days. Pray for Rose and me as we are the only caregivers. After her stay in the hospital she will have rehabiliation for several days as well.

Beverly Burrus is doing better. She is expected to come home either today or on Friday.

Continue to pray for those at Eastside who are sick and elderly: Nelson and Jane Young, Helen Wells, Shirley Grant, Lewis and Judy Grant, Albert Brewer, Melvin, Ricky, and Frankie Mills.

Pray for our country, Upward Basketball and Cheerleaders Sign ups, troops, and for Sunday.

Also, you can check out a new blog post at our small group blog site by clicking here.

Have a great day,

Pastor VG

Are you involved in a small group? If not, I would encourage you to join one today.

Here is Eastside’s Small Group Ministry New Logo (see below). Belong, Become, Bless are the three words that describes what small groups are all about at Eastside. Small groups are a place for people to belong, to develop spiritual friendships, to have a safe place to share, to know and to be known. Become is all about becoming more like Jesus in every arena of our lives. Bless is the mindset of blessing everyone we come into contact with. Bless is about living missional each day.

Check out Eastside’s New Small Group Leader’s Resource Center by clicking here.

Eastside’s New Small Group Ministry Logo:

Dear Church Family,

“All In” is a very popular saying since The World Series of Poker Tournament (Texas Hold’em) has been aired on ESPN over the last several years. “All In” means that a player is betting every chip in their possession based on their current hand. I am asking Eastside Baptist Church Family to go “All In” on Sunday, October 25, 2009.

I am asking that each family, person, and individual associated with Eastside to be “All In” with their attendance. Eastside will be going for HIGH ATTENDANCE SUNDAY on the 25th of October.

I have been dreaming for the last several months about what it would like if everyone associated with Eastside showed up on the same Sunday. How would it feel? What would look like? What would be the emotion? Would you go “All In” on Sunday, October 25?

Eastside is officially half way through our spiritual emphasis called 40 Days of Love. God is doing some great things with and through 40 Days of Love. Relationships are being restored; friendships renewed; and God receiving all the glory.

Here are some of the wonderful things taking place:

1. The $17,000.00 needed for the 100,000 meals for Feed My Starving Children Meals have been received. Thank you Eastside for your generosity. Praise the Lord.

2. We have averaged 193 adults in small group Bible study. Way to go, Eastside adults.

3. We have almost gotten all our volunteers for our meal packing event which is October 19-22, 2009. If you would like to help with packing the meals for starving children then please contact Vivian Wallace at vivwallace@gmail.com

4. On Sunday, October 25, 2009 Eastside will have a Celebration Sunday Event to conclude our 40 Days of Love and Compassion Week. We will observe the Lord’s Supper, worship the Lord, hear testimonies, and praise the Lord. Mark your calendar right now. I am also asking that everyone associated with Eastside to make it priority to be in attendance on the 25th of October. I want to see what it would look like for everyone to be in attendance on one day.

5. Click here for additional details about the Partial Fast during Compassion Week. You will be able to pick up your Compassion Week Cup starting this weekend.

Blessings,

Pastor VG

More than 1.1 billion people don’t have access to clean water. In many parts of the world, women and children carry 40-pound jugs for miles to retrieve their daily allotment—and even then, the water may not be safe to drink.

It’s a critical situation. Every five seconds, a child dies from hunger-related causes. Every fifteen seconds, a child dies from water-related diseases. And with the global economic slide, another 100 million people have slipped into extreme poverty.

Take the 5-Day Challenge
As an act of solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the globe, we encourage you to eat for five days, October 19-23, as the bottom economic half of the world does every day. Eat the three meals of your day using only the options below. Set aside the money you would have spent on additional groceries, and donate it to Compassion Week, which will support those who struggle with hunger and thirst.

Meal Options
• Plain oatmeal or Cream of Wheat
• A tortilla, rice, and beans
• Rice with bits of fish or chicken, and a vegetable
• Tap water (use your Compassion Week cup)

Food Portions
Portion sizes around the world are much smaller than a typical American meal. One cup or eight ounces is a generous portion. Meat is a luxury, with the average African consuming about ¾ ounce per day—the size of a small chicken nugget. Fresh fruit is rare, available only if locally grown and in season.

While these meals seem small by American standards, they actually represent diets in the broad middle when compared to the rest of the world. Half the world’s population lives on no more than $2 a day. Approximately 1 billion people live on even less—only $1 per day.

Water
Public water systems in the United States generally provide adequate, accessible, clean water for the common good in environmentally sustainable ways.

Choosing to drink bottled water when there is a safe and convenient public source nearby can be both financially wasteful and harmful to the environment. Please avoid such options during the challenge, as they are not readily available for the people we are standing with. Drink water from your Compassion Week cup and remember the more than 1.1 billion people who don’t have access to clean water.

Doctor’s Recommendations
Please use your discernment in determining portion size and water consumption that will allow you to function in a safe manner while also experiencing what life is like for the other half of the world. If you have a medical condition, honor your physician’s recommendations. Contact your doctor if you are unsure about participating in this challenge.

Involving Your Kids
Beyond standing with others against global hunger and thirst, the 5-Day Challenge is also an experiential opportunity for you to form compassion in your family: seeing a need and doing something about it.
Throughout this challenge, use discernment with your children. Be wise with dietary limitations, and encourage honest conversation about how each person feels. Those discussions will be key in opening your family’s eyes to the needs of others.

If you have school-aged kids who are participating in the challenge, help them determine how to explain global hunger and thirst to friends who ask about the rice and beans they eat and/or the cup they use to drink.

Set aside time each day to talk about the experience, and to pray for families around the globe who face hunger and thirst every day of their lives.

Daily Encouragement
Pastor Virgil will be providing daily encouragement and reflection delivered right to your inbox during the 5-Day Challenge.

1. Thank you, thank you, thank you for a great start to 40 Days of Love. We had 188 Adults in Small Group Bible Study this past week and 318 in Worship. God is doing some really awesome things. Continue to be obedient and faithful to what God tells you to do.

2. Compassion Week is quickly approaching us. Compassion Week is scheduled for October 19-23, 2009. To learn more about Compassion Week Details please click here.

3. This week I begin my 20th year as pastor of Eastside Baptist Church. Wow. I cannot believe this. I am very humble by the love, support, and prayers of this church family. I count it a privilege and honor to serve as your pastor. We have the best people in the world at Eastside. I love each one of you. A pastor friend told me the other day that only 1 pastor in 50,000 stays at the same church for 20 years. I thought I was 1 in a million but I will settle for 1 in 50,000.

4. Don’t forget to sign up to Pack Meals for Feed My Starving Children. If you or your family has not signed up to help with this project then please contact Vivian Wallace at vivwallace@gmail.com to find out what slots are still open. I know that Thursday, October 22nd is already FULL.

5. Eastside still needs to collect about $3,000.00 dollars to have the 100,000 meals paid in full as it relates to Feed My Starving Children. The total cost of the 100,000 meals are $17,000.00. If you would like to help with this final amount just let me know. By God’s Grace, He has provided $14,000.00 with no fundraising, begging, or pleading. I know God will provide the last $3,000.00.

6. Don’t miss this Sunday…I will be talking about How to Love Others with Your Words.

See you on Sunday.

Love and Grace,

Pastor VG