JUNE, 2024

VOL. XXVIII, NO. 6

The
MESSENGER
560 E. BROAD ST. WEST POINT, MS 39773 662-494-4213 www.firstbaptistwp.org

From Your Pastor read. What a difficult passage to live! Be

anxious for nothing? We all struggle with
Men’s Ministry Upcoming Events

When the writer of Hebrews We have completed the first five weeks of
worrying about something at some point
identifies the Bible as “living, active The Man Church “Pursuit” curriculum.
in our lifetime. Some people worry about The next section of The Man Church
and sharper than a two-edged sword”
all significant things every day! Worry small groups begins on June 1st, so this
(4:12), he isn’t kidding! When my flawed
can easily become your default mode of would be a great time to plug in and learn
and dull soul encounters the edge of
life. Worry, anxiety, burden, uneasiness, more about challenging and equipping
the Word, then I can either choose the
concern – whatever degree of worry is men to become the people God created
renewal of my mind (Rms 12:2) and be
present in your life, Philippians 4 gives them to be. Check the table outside the
transformed or as the KJV puts it – I can
the steps to deal with it. (A.) Prayer turns fellowship hall to find a date and time
be “divided asunder.” The ideal response
the focus off of whatever you worry that fits you. Confirm with the group
should be when God’s word reveals the
about and rightly gives clarity to our trust leader because some of the times have
“good, acceptable, and perfect will of
in God. (B.) Renewing your mind in the changed.
God” that I do what it reveals. What an
Word reboots your entire system to run
excellent plan! However, I am a flawed,
more clearly with thanksgiving replacing July 7- Men and boys breakfast
prideful, and broken man. (BTW … My
the burden. (C.) Living in the “blessed
mother banned the word “stupid” but August 3- Man Church event hosted by
hope” provides a vision that “the Lord is
sometimes there’s no better descrip- First Baptist. This is a men’s event and
near” and replaces the hope-so-ism that
tive word). Instead of having my faith will be open to all men, not just those
the nightmare will end. (D.) Learn how
exercised by the Word of God to walk on from First Baptist. More information will
to rest in the Lord. When we have peace
water, I take my eyes off Jesus and im- be shared soon.
with God, we experience the peace OF
mediately begin to worry. Worry equals
God. Grow comfortable in letting God Simply Blessed Paint Party
sinking! Philippians 4:4-7 bluntly says,
guard your heart and mind, so you can with Susan McComic
“Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS; again I will
concentrate on letting a gentle spirit be June 18, 5:30-8:30, Fellowship Hall
say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known
known to all men. $30 due when register in the church office
to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and Must register and pay by June 12
Your Pastor and friend, All costs are covered with this amount.
supplication with thanksgiving let your re-
A light supper will be provided
quests be made known to God. And the peace
Ladies and teen daughters are welcomed.
of God, which surpasses all comprehension, Limited to only 30 participants!
will guard your hearts and your minds in Sign up now!
Christ Jesus.” What a beautiful passage to

VBS - June 3-7 - 8:30 - 12:00

This year’s offering will go to the Dream Center.

We will also be collecting items
for their Bedz for Kidz program.

Family Night - Wednesday, June 5 - 5:30-7:30

Worship Rally 5:30-6
Meal 6-6:30 You may use this
QR code to register
Family activities on the green house grass 6:30-7:30
your children.
 and at North Oxford Baptist Church,

Ginger’s Notes Oxford on Sunday night, June 16 at 6:00.

“Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the
Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His
salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations, His
marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord and greatly to be
praised!” (Psalm 96:1-4)
We sing because we’re created to,
commanded to, and compelled to. And
when we sing great truths, great things
happen. Christ-filled, Spirit-prompted
singing moves out in concentric circles
changing your own heart and mind…
changing your family…changing your
church…and changing the world. (from
SING by Keith & Kristyn Getty)
WORSHIP CHOIR will rehearse June 5
at 6:15 and June 12, 19 and 26 at 6:00! We
will sing in Morning Worship June 2,
16 and 30. The summer rehearsal and
Sunday singing schedule is available to
He keeps me singing!
pick up in the choir room.
FBC will host a COMMUNITY
PATRIOTIC PROGRAM on Sunday
night, June 30 at 6:00 p.m. Our choir
along with several choirs from other
churches in our city and community
will be presenting Patriotic music that
will honor God and our country. Please
make plans to attend this special event.
Mississippi Baptist All-State Youth
Choir and Orchestra Camp will be from
June 10-17. Please be in prayer for our
8 students who are participating: Ava
Grace Burton, Macey Busby, Hartleigh
Jo Ferrell, Samuel Hollis, Hannah
Miller, Leslie Robinson, Riley
Turnipseed, and Bella Vick. If you
would like to write a note of encourage-
ment to any of these students, please
give them to me by Sunday, June 9. The
concerts in our area will be at Calvary
Baptist, Tupelo on Friday, June 14 at 6:00

man. One of the children (who often June 28-30.

“Other seeds fell on rocky ground,
where they did not have much soil,
and immediately they sprang up, since
they had no depth of soil but when the
sun rose they were scorched. And since
they had no root, they withered away.”
Matthew 13:5-6
DEPTH is necessary for the growth of
the soul. In this parable, the soil is the
heart. The seed is God’s word. I want to
be more like Jesus. I need depth. The
goal of discipleship is that we become
more Christlike. Even when we suffer
with Him, we don’t whither away. We are
rooted and strong.
The Lord has convicted me recently
about the church’s ministry. I am guilty
of wanting to appeal to the world. I don’t
want to compete with the world. We
are a peculiar people with a life-saving,
life-bringing message. The world may
offer saviors in fleeting form, but our
Savior is eternal, never changes, and
never fails.
One of my favorite moments in kids’
ministry the past year was in Theo Kids
when we had back-to-back lessons
about Jesus being fully God and fully
seems like he isn’t paying attention) was
processing this truth, and he began to
ask questions. That is a deep truth that
is difficult for people of all ages to truly
grasp. And while it is hard to
articulate in kid language sometimes, it
gave me the opportunity to talk about
the uniqueness of Jesus. There’s just no
one like Him. We get the privilege of
exalting Christ. The world doesn’t do
that.
When you disciple your children at
home, don’t think you need to cover a
broad range of things. Go deep with a
scripture and help your children see
Jesus. Rehearse and repeat. Worry less
about issues and more about just
showing your children Jesus. When the
issues arise, and they will, we just want
them to know the One who holds all
things together and who has all
authority.
John MacArthur said the job of a
preacher is to “bring people down so
that they can go up.” Bring them down
into the depth of the word and when
you do, their praise will go up. Proclaim
Him on the housetops. (Matthew 10:27)
There are no secrets in the Christian
faith.
•Be in prayer for Bible School! June 3-7
•Be in prayer for our children at camp
•Midweek Meetups are June 12, 19, and
26 from 5:30-7. Let me know if you can
help!
June 2 - Joedee and Leslie Robinson
June 9 - Heather Bumgarner and
Abby Robinson
June 16 - Michelle Williamson and
Shana Cliett
June 23 - Shanna Ferrell and Ann Holt
June 30 - Casey Berry and Katie Oswalt
THANK YOU NOTES have been received
from Kay Vaughn and The Mission.
CONGRATULATIONS to Jake and Lily
Chambless on the birth of their daughter,
Gracie Mae, April 29. Her proud grand-
parents are Chris and Elisha Chambless.
CHRISTIAN SYMPATHY is extended to
Wayne and Judy Ray in the death of her
uncle, Stennis Clardy, April 29; and to Andy
Davis in the death of his brother-in-law,
Tommy Vickers, April 29; also to Scott and
Donna Ross and family in the death of his
mother, Fay Ross, April 30.
 FFirst
irst Students
Students
Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering,
since He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:24
Church family,
It’s hard to believe that we are already
halfway through 2024! We have made
it through the end of the school year,
and as busy as it has been, things are
about to get a little busier for some. We
certainly want to keep families in prayer
as they travel during the month of June
for vacation, and we have several events
during the month across our ministries
that will be taking groups and traveling
during the month as well. Be in prayer
for our eight students that will be
participating in the Mississippi Baptist
All-State Youth Choir and Orchestra as
they travel across the state.
Our trip to Generate Camp is quickly
approaching as well. We will be leaving
on Monday, June 24th to travel to Mar-
Any groups (deacons, women’s ministry, men’s ministry, missions, small groups, committees, choirs,
ensembles, children, youth, and adults) who are planning events or meetings in July must email or call
Kelli with dates, times, and details by June 21. (fbcwpkelli@gmail.com)
shall, Texas where we will be staying at
East Texas Baptist University for our week
of camp. While at camp, we will be serving
at a local Boys and Girls club for a few
hours each day. Please be in prayer for our
students, our leaders, and all of those that
we will come in contact with as we serve
during our week of camp. Pray that we will
have gospel centered conversations during
the week and that our students would
be bold enough to share the gospel with
those they come in contact with. The final
payment for camp is due by June 2nd. If
you are planning to pay online, please just
let me know once you have made the pay-
ment, so I can mark you as paid. We will
have a parents meeting sometime during
the month of June to talk about details of
the camp trip.
For any parents or students that have
not signed up for our messaging remind-
ers on mojotxt, you can join our FBCWP
Youth Reminders by texting “reminders”
to (662)478-2054. Please be sure to send
another text after joining the reminder
group with your name so that I can
know who has signed up. Also, be on the
lookout for more information about the
back to school retreat that is coming up
in July. You’ll want to be signed up for the
reminders so that you don’t miss any-
thing! I’m looking forward to a busy but
fun filled and Christ centered summer
for our students, and as always, we covet
your prayers for our student ministry.
In Christ,
Joseph Blount
Luncheon
Thursday, June 13, 11:15 a.m.
at Cafe on Main in Columbus
Meet in the church parking lot by 10:40 if you
would like to ride together, or you can meet us
over there.
Please sign up on the table outside the fellow-
ship hall so that we know how many are going.
 NURSERY CALENDAR
June 2 June 9 June 16 June 23 June 30

Ben and Heather Nikki and Aiden John & Sherry Brad and Perry Gregg and Keena
Lawley Stafford Freeman Price Kaiser
Kimberly Allen Farrah Honea Rasheda Burnett Regina Towery Kelli Mowry
June 5 June 19
VBS Themed Foods Green Salad
including chicken Chicken Salad
strips, Cheetohs, and Pasta Salad TITHES & OFFERINGS
desserts Fruit/Garlic Bread April Online Giving
$11,027.20 May 12, 2024
Dessert
Undesignated $11,556.00
April Online ECM Deposits
June 12 June 26 $18,335.70
Reimbursements $550.00
Hamburger Lasagna Child Care $5,816.50
Fries Salad April 28, 2024 Total Operating $17,922.50
Sugar Cookie Designated $318.00
Garlic Bread Undesignated $9,997.00
Total Deposit $18,240.50
Dessert Reimbursements $663.00
Child Care $3,080.00
Total Operating $13,740.00 May 19, 2024
SUNDAY ATTENDANCE Designated $837.00 Undesignated $10,544.00
4/28 5/5 5/12 5/19 Total Deposit $14,577.00 Reimbursements $1,047.00
Sunday School 226 209 192 191 Child Care $5,369.50
Morning Worship 307 392 361 321 May 5, 2024 Total Operating $16,960.50
Undesignated $17,336.10 Designated $338.00
BUDGET NEEDS Reimbursements $837.00 Total Deposit $17,298.50
Average Weekly Budget Receipts for April Child Care $4,937.00
$19,419.96 Total Operating $23,110.10
Weekly Budget Needs Designated $173.00
$21,945.92 Total Deposit $23,283.10

First Baptist
Church
Rev. Dale Funderburg
Pastor

Ginger Fowler
Minister of Music

Joseph Blount
Minister of Students

Joedee Robinson
Minister of Children
and Family Ministry

Sarah Burton
ECM Director

Caroline Warrington
Children’s Ministry Intern

Samuel Hollis
Music Ministry Intern