How do you get local kids drawn to church for a day of fellowship, worship, and fun? Well, St. Joe General Baptist Church has a pretty well thought out philosophy: hold a chili supper and invite Arkansas State Red Wolves’ defensive lineman Greg McCall.
St. Joe is offering a day full of great fun on December 9th, 2012. The fundraiser will take place right after morning service and all proceeds will go to the Ben Kruse 18 Fore Life Foundation, to help the local families and individuals that are suffering from cancer and other fatal diseases. St. Joe’s youth group decided that the Ben Kruse Foundation was definitely a great way to reach out to the community for those with illnesses or sicknesses but they also thought that holding a chili supper would reach out for those who were hurting within our community, whether they are teens or adults.
Not to mention that St. Joe isn’t only offering a chili supper, they’re also offering a place for prayer and a band for praise and worship. But it gets better! Although the whole event is hosted by St. Joe and neighboring youth groups, they brought in Greg McCall as the guest speaker so once you finish eating a nice lunch, you can head into the church and listen to exciting stories of both his football career and his personal experiences with God.
Greg McCall is nearly six feet tall and weighs in at 305 pounds and has been playing football since his freshman year in high school at Prattville, Alabama. He has been playing at Arkansas State University since 2008 and every year since then. Although you may not see it when you’re watching him play college football on TV, McCall shares a growing relationship with God. At this event, McCall will share his testimonies and his close walk with God as he stands on stage and shows us a game plan that’s not meant for football, but is meant for our life on earth and the life after this one.
Right after church service at St. Joe General Baptist Church in Bloomfield, the chili supper will take place. This will start around noon and end around one o’clock. So, if you don’t have time for a sit down meal, you can carry out instead of dining in. When everyone finishes their meal, they will be welcomed to the sanctuary where they will have praise and worship music. At 1:30, Gregory McCall will take the stage and talk to teens about their game plan, or their plan for their life and God’s hand in it all. At two, attendees are welcomed to stay for fellowship and fun with one another.
If you want to attend, you must purchase tickets for the event but remember that it is for a great cause and all profit made from this event will go to the Ben Kruse 18 Fore Life Foundation. Tickets for children five and under are at no cost but the tickets for six to twelve year olds are $3. Tickets for anyone thirteen years old and older are $5 per person. St. Joe’s Youth Group is currently selling tickets so be sure to invite families, youth groups, other churches, and kids of all ages to this fun and insightful event.
St. Joe and surrounding youth groups will be hosting the event on Sunday, December 9th, so they hope that it has a great turn out and a great impact on all the children, teens, and adults that have the opportunity to attend. A chili supper on top of a youth event is just too good to be ignored. So, make sure to clear your calendars because you won’t want to miss this chance to “Take a Bite Out of Cancer”!
For additional information about the purchase of tickets, contact news@showmetimes.com or stop by County Wide Insurance in Dexter during office hours.
With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to take a step back from our busy shopping sprees and Christmas lists and take a look around to see all the joys of the holiday season and all the ways we can reach out and help others that are less fortunate during this joyous time of the year. That is exactly what the youth group from St. Joe General Baptist Church in Bloomfield plans on doing by holding a lunch at their church and offering a warm place to talk, eat, and enjoy the company of others.
We hope you can clear your schedule for a helpful event and a bowl full of hot chili at St. Joe on Sunday, December 9th. The fundraiser will take place right after morning service and all proceeds will go to the Ben Kruse 18 Fore Life Foundation, to help the local families and individuals that are suffering from cancer and other fatal diseases.
The adult cost (for anyone thirteen and up) will be $5 and the children’s price (ages six to twelve) is $3 while any child five and under eats for free. A hot bowl of chili, freshly made peanut butter sandwiches, cold drinks, and a choice of many excellent desserts will be provided for each person who decides to attend. The lunch will last from noon to around two o’clock, which gives you plenty of time to enjoy your meal and the company of others.
The youth group is very involved in the church and has participated in many of their events but they thought it was time to step out and create their own all by themselves so that they too can experience the full meaning of offering a gift to charity. There are many helpful and meaningful fundraisers that benefit tons of people throughout our community and St. Joe has high hopes and great confidence that they can make this event successful so that they can offer a helping hand to this wonderful charity.
I’m sure that all of us can think about one person that we know or that we've heard of in our community that has an illness or a form of cancer and St. Joe’s youth group quickly recognized that traumatic things like cancer even exist in small towns like Bloomfield and Dexter. So, we hope that you can make it to this event and support both the Ben Kruse Foundation, the people that the charity will be helping, and St. Joe’s youth.
Sikeston, Missouri - Christmas, a season of hope, can also bring challenges for many. It's not uncommon for people to experience loneliness, depressions, financial strain, loss of loved ones, childhood scars, among others. In December, First United Methodist Church of Sikeston, Missouri will begin its new message series, “Wrestling with Christmas” with a special guest who is a professional wrestling legend from the WWE.
Ted DiBiase, known in wrestling circles as the Million Dollar Man, will be at First UMC at 11am, this Sunday, Dec. 2, to share his encouraging story of his experiences as a wrestler and his faith. There is no charge.
A retired professional wrestler, manager, pastor, and color commentator, DiBiase achieved championship success in several wrestling promotions and holds 30 titles. He was named King of the Ring in 1988 and was the first WWF North American Heavyweight Champion, among others. He was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2010.
“God had allowed me to climb to the top – my life was made into action figures; I wrestled in front of 80,000 people. Yet, I was still not satisfied. I was trying to fill this void in my life, like so many others have done in the entertainment world,” says DiBiase. “But the thing that’s almost unbelievable about God is His grace and mercy. We fail all the time, but there’s no shame in failing – only in not getting up and keeping on.”
DiBiase has been involved in the world of professional wrestling almost his entire life. His stepfather, wrestler "Iron Mike" DiBiase died in the ring when Ted was 15. His mother then slipped into depression and turned to alcohol and he moved to Arizona to live with his grandparents. He made his wrestling debut in 1974.
After moving to Atlanta to continue his wrestling career, he met his future wife Melanie. They were married in 1981. His website states that his wrestling kept him away from her, while ego, pride, and money took center stage.
The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) finally took notice. They had an idea for a new character and developed DiBiase into the "Million Dollar Man," surrounding him by money, limousines and life in the fast lane. He was known for a trademark evil laugh and his signature move called the Million Dollar Dream. Through hard work and determination he quickly rose to the top of his profession where he has remained for the 20 years. Due to a neck injury, DiBiase was forced to give up the physical side of professional wrestling. He acted as a ringside manager in both the WWE (Andre the Giant, Steve Austin) and WCW (Steiner Brothers). He has also appeared on TV wrestling programs and acted as creative consultant for a video game.
In 1999, DiBiase took on new roles outside of professional wrestling. He is a spokesperson for the Sunshine Foundation, an organization that grants wishes for critically ill children, and founded Heart of David Ministries, for which he travels the world. Also through Heart of David Ministries, DeBiase speaks out against drug and alcohol abuse. He has a strong message for "macho men" and struggling married couples. He is author of Every Man Has His Price, a part auto-biography and part-Christian testimony.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear a world champion wrestler. The congregation of First United Methodist welcomes all to attend this free event. First UMC is located at 1307 North Main, Sikeston, Missouri. For more information visit thefunchurch.org or call 573.421.1824.
For more info contact Brad Aycock, 573.421.1824
Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is an organization that sends shoeboxes full of small gifts to second and third world countries around the globe. Although this organization stretches across all of America, Stoddard County has been a major participant. Many churches, small organizations, and school clubs have taken part in packing shoe boxes.
Operation Christmas Child works through Samaritan’s Purse, a foundation that is dedicated to international relief. OCC is more than just a box full of small toys that are bought at the Dollar Store. For most kids that receive boxes, it will be their only Christmas present. OCC is also dedicated to showing children their world in a difference perspective: Jesus’ perspective. Each box will contain a small Bible or short books about Bible stories that are written in their language so that they will receive the light and love of Jesus.
Many churches throughout Bloomfield and Dexter held ‘Packing Parties’, which is when the members of the church pull together and fill boxes with small items that is a necessity or a gift for the child that will receive the box. Many of the shoeboxes are filled with personal hygiene items, shoes, shirts, toys, books, crayons, and other things that are plentiful in the United States.
OCC began in 1993 and they are thrilled to be celebrating their nineteenth year with the honor of sending out their 100-millionth shoebox. This is a great achievement because that means that 100,000,000 kids in thirty-six different countries have received the Word of God.
Living Water Worship Center in Bloomfield and St. Joe General Baptist Church in Idalia has participated in this event for many years. This year, Living Waters sent out nearly one hundred shoeboxes and they are excited to see where they end up going. St. Joe is currently preparing for the Packing Party that will be held this Sunday on November 18th. They are bringing in supplies and gathering shoeboxes so that everything will run smoothly and efficiently.
The Light House Church in Dexter had the honor of being a drop-off site, where people in the surrounding area will drop their packed boxes there so they can be distributed to a bigger packing plant in Atlanta or New York City so that they can be shipped to other places in the world. This will be the Light House’s fourth year of participating in OCC and they have sent hundreds of boxes during that time. You can pack your own personal box and drop it off at the Light House. For more information on how to pack a box or what to include, visit samaritanspurse.org.
It costs $7 to send each shoebox so many donations and hard work is required to send a large amount but any participator will agree that it is worth it. People in this area have really stepped up and reached out and the number of boxes sent each year has increased tremendously. Stoddard County is filled with people that have great compassion for charities and the astounding results of Operation Christmas Child has really proved that.
Jessica Snider SMT Writer
In honor of next week being Thanksgiving, Friendship Baptist Church in Dexter, Missouri will be holding their annual Thanksgiving Dinner tonight.
The dinner will start around 6:00 P.M. and will be held in the fellowship center in the church.
Members of Friendship Baptist Church would like to let everyone know that anyone is welcome to come! There will be a variety of food made by different people throughout the church, and there’s something to be enjoyed by everyone!
Friendship Baptist hosts a Thanksgiving Dinner every year and there is always a great turnout. They hope to have a large number of people from the community show up tonight and celebrate the Thanksgiving season together!
Friendship Baptist is located at 13437 Plaza Heights Avenue in Dexter.
The meal is free of charge and they hope everyone who can attend will feel welcomed!
