CALLING ALL CHURCH TREASURERS!

I was recently asked to recommend accounting software for churches. I honestly couldn't give a recommendation because I'm not a church Treasurer. The software used by the General Conference and Memorial Fund is a fairly powerful program that most churches don't need.

So I'd like to hear from the the church Treasurers out there. Could you please let me know what your church uses? Does it work? What doesn't work?

You can either comment back to this Blog or email me at mdshepard@seventhdaybaptist.org. Thanks in advance for your help!

Host Committee corrections

Now that the April Sabbath Recorder has hit the East coast, we have discovered a couple of errors in the Host Committee listing (found inside the front cover).

The correct phone number for our Transportation guy, Ward Bond, should be:
856-451-5681

The correct e-mail address for our Nursery czar, Dottie Cruzan, should be:
dottiecruzan@gmail.com

The corrections have been made in the May issue. All of the Conference registration forms are in the May SR, but there will be a discount on your fees if you register on-line. Keep watching this blog-- the registering frenzy shall soon begin!

2009 SDB Directory available

The latest SDB Directory is back from the printer! The Directory lists all of our Conference churches and contact information, our Conference-elected officers, Statement of Belief, By-Laws, and much more.

This year’s Directory is still just $7.50, plus $1.50 for shipping and handling. If you need multiple copies, please e-mail us or call the SDB Center at 608-752-5055.

Pastor Ken Chroniger Passes Doctor of Ministry Defense of Thesis

Rev Kenneth D. Chroniger, Pastor of the Alfred Station SDB Church, and Doctor of Ministry Student at Acadia Divinity College, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, defended his thesis on March 25th. The vote of the 4 person panel was unanimous that his work passed and that, with a few corrections to the thesis, he would graduate. Good Work Pastor Ken. He, along with Pastor George Calhoun, who completed his D Min work a few months ago at Denver Seminary, Littleton, CO, will be presenting about their topics this year at the Pastors Conference in Shiloh, NJ on April 22 and 23.

This was not finalized as we were preparing the Council on Ministry mailing which was sent the first of April, so it was not included in the newsletter. This mailing was sent to recipients of the Sabbath Recorder and the newsletter is posted at the COM website. If you do not receive this mailing and would like a copy of the newsletter or the prayer card for 2009 (see the picture here), you may request your own copy by emailing me at com@sdbministry.org.

BWA Leader visits Ukraine

From Eron Henry at the Baptist World Alliance

Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam visited the country of Ukraine, March 25-31.

Callam preached at three churches, including the Central Baptist Church in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital; brought greetings and addresses at several meetings, including a youth celebration event; and met with leaders of the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists (AUCECB).

Callam was impressed with the commitment of Ukrainian Baptists to evangelism and social ministry, such as a ministry to drug addicts, and by the structure of the AUCECB. Callam described the structure of the Union, its Associations, and churches as “well coordinated.” He noted that “the Association structure replicates the national structure” and that “each church is structured the same.”

For example, each congregation, and each of the 25 regional Associations, has a director of evangelism. When meetings are held, evangelism directors from the different churches meet at the Associational level. Nationally, the directors of evangelism from each Association meet together to make and execute evangelism plans. In this way, the evangelism work in the country is well organized and coordinated as there is a “clearly defined focus of work.”

Callam observed that there was “high church attendance and professionalization of the music ministry” at the worship services and the AUCECB events in which he participated.

Ukraine has one of the largest Baptist memberships in Europe. The AUCECB has more than 2,800 churches and church plants and more than 135,000 members. The Brotherhood of Independent Baptist Churches and Ministries of Ukraine has approximately 130 churches and more than 11,000 baptized believers.

Don Sanford’s impact around world

Missionary Society Executive Kirk Looper just forwarded me a fax. The headline got my attention: “Memorial Service for the late Rev. Don A. Sanford.” Peering at the fine print of the letterhead really got my attention. It was from Sierra Leone, Africa.

Apparently, our “national treasure” was truly international. Don’s work as a writer and Seventh Day Baptist historian touched many.

In part, from the fax (trying to keep much of the original flavor):
There was a combined service held at the Good News Seventh Day Baptist Church, Wellington, Freetown [Sierra Leone]. During this combined service, our pastors in all our churches in the Conference, and two elders from each church including all youth leaders, came down to Freetown… on Sabbath the 28th of March 2009, as it was a memorial service for the late Rev. Don A. Sanford.

Preacher for the service was the President, Pastor Francis Edward Mattia. The open hymn was “When Peace Like a River,” the scripture selections from John 11:25-26 and 2 Cor. 1:3-4, and the reading was done by Pastor Emmanuel Gbondo from the Prince Emmanuel SDB Church in Bo.

As the late Rev. Don A. Sanford was not known in person by the Conference… a story of the life of the late Rev. Sanford was given by the President by bringing before the assembly a few essential facts regarding the deceased, spoken in high appreciation of the sterling qualities of character exemplified. The President tried for the Conference to really understand the kind of servant of the Gospel that has gone to rest with the Lord.
____________

Thank you, Kirk, for sending the fax.
Thank You, Lord, for sending us Don.

New Memorial Fund Web Page!!!

The Seventh Day Baptist Memorial Fund webpage has been updated!!! Check it out here!

The web page can also be accessed through the menu bar at the top of the page by clicking on "Ministries" and then "Memorial Fund."


The page now includes . . .

• Memorial Fund Vision / Mission Statement
• A brief history
• Services provided to include . . .

Endowment Income

Scholarships

Loans

Custodial Accounts

Grants

In addition there are pictures of recent projects and links to forms and more information.

Thanks to the Webmaster for designing our new web page!