NON-PROFIT

ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #116 ROLLA, MO

1608 N Oak St Rolla MO 65401-2342 573-364-1266 www.rolla-firstassembly.org office@rolla-firstassembly.org NOVEMBER 2012

Chuck Whitmire
Lead Pastor
pastor_chuck@rolla-firstassembly.org

Spotlight on . . .

MAKING EVERY CHRISTIAN A MISSIONARY

Ray Cook
Associate Pastor
fireguy@rollafirstassembly.org

Leon & Linda Conway

ton until they closed the plant in 2007. The Lord blessed Leon with a job at the St. James school district as the Grounds and Building Coordinator where he is currently employed. Linda retired after 30 years of service from the Missouri Veterans Home in St James in August of 2000 and now works part time at the Senior Companion Program in Rolla. Leon and Linda have two sons and five grandchildren. Their sons and families also attend First Assembly of God. Leon came from a family of five siblings and Linda had seven. Leons dad was the pastor at the Assembly of God church in St. James for over 30 years. They were members there, serving in just about every area of the church. Going to church and serving
Conway continued on page 3

Dalton Avery
Youth Pastor
pastordalton@rollafirstassembly.org

~ Weekly Schedule ~
Sunday Morning Worship Contemporary: 9:15 am Traditional: 10:45 am Christian Development 9:15 & 10:45 Sunday Evening Service - 6:00 pm CAFE College Group at Open House Everdeep for Youth Bible Studies Men: Tuesdays 6:30 am Wednesday Evening - 7:00 pm Ladies: Thursdays 9:30 am Prayer Service Youth Girls: Thursdays 7 am at Panera Childrens Ministry service The Forge Youth church
Nursery provided for Sunday morning & Wednesday evening services

Brian Feller
Childrens Pastor
pastorbrian@rollafirstassembly.org

Prayer Meetings Sunday: 9:00-9:15 am MondayFriday: 7:00-8:30 am Tuesday: 12:00-1:00 Second Fridays Monthly: 8pm-3am Saturday: 6:00 pm

Sam Parker
KCA/TSC Director
kcatsc@rollafirstassembly.org

Additional Staff
Cora Parsons
Office Manager office@rolla-firstassembly.org

Leon and Linda grew up in St. James. Leon went to grade school in town and Linda went to a one-room school in the country. We met when we both became freshmen at John F. Hodge High School in St. James. We were at a city league baseball game where Lindas brother was a pitcher for one of the teams. We began dating and were high school sweethearts from that time on. After we graduated from high school, Leon went to barber school in St. Louis and Linda got a job as a payroll clerk at the local shoe factory. We were married in May of 1965 and have been married for 47 years. Leon worked at Larrys Barber Shop in Rolla until Schwitzers Plant came to Rolla in 1970. He worked there until the plant closed in 1992. In 1995, Leon went to work for Briggs and Strat-

Mark Berry
Custodian

~ Office Hours ~
Monday-Friday 8-12 and 1-5

Pansy Bingham
Business Administrator pansy@rolla-firstassembly.org

Inside:

This month:

Coming Up:

Abby Swearingen
Media Assistant media@rolla-firstassembly.org

Apologetics 101 Are You Crazy? Part 2 Youth Fall Retreat Xtreme Winter

Thanksgiving dinner Youth Convention KidCare fundraiser

Christmas musicals Xtreme Winter Conference Revival

Sunday

NOVEMBER
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 1 2 All Nations Christian Fellowship 6 7 8 Board meeting 6:00 am 9

Saturday 3 On call this weekend: Pastor Chuck 341-8086 Set your clocks back tonight!

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, You know. Ezek. 37:1-3 The intercessor waits on the Lord, and seeks His hand of direction concerning the matters that are brought to the throne. As he seeks the mighty God, he lingers in that interlude between someones needs and the Lords desires, and remains there until the Fathers heart forms the words he will pray. The intercessor disallows the waiting room of prayer to be too full of self; and indeed she longs for it to be full of the power of the Living God. She spends time in the quietin a preparatory posture that will receive all she needs to pray with the kind of power that speaks to dry bones, and raises them to life. The intercessor can stand in the gap for other

people, for cities, for rulers over cities and even nations, because he knows the heart of God and what it is that will turn His hand (Exodus 32:1113). He can stand in the gap with assurance and minister with Holy Ghost power because he has been with the Lord and has seen His glory. Moreover, he can intercede because his desire is for others to know the Lord (Acts 9:3942). Lord, let your hand be upon me. As I pray and come before you, I ask for you mercies to encompass me about, and that your love will win over all. In your time and by your Holy Spirit, may I be taken out of the ordinary and be placed into the middle of the valley that you would choosethe valley where you will teach me about great and mighty things. Let me walk closely beside you so I will not miss whatever it is that you want to show me. Teach me your ways Lord, for I long to know you and desire to see your glory. Carol Hudler

4 Missions Sunday 5 Membership class

10 On call this weekend: Pastor Brian 426-6235

Royal Rangers, Girls Ministries, The Forge Youth Church 11 Communion Membership class 12 13 14 Family Feast Missions Committee meeting Royal Rangers, Girls Ministries, The Forge Youth Church 18 Building Fund Baptism One Day to Feed the World 19 Operation Christmas Child deadline 20 21
Church office closes at noon

All night prayer All Nations Christian Fellowship 15 Mens Breakfast 16 17 On call this weekend: Pastor Dalton 202-4208

On November 18, we are partnering with humanitarian aid organization Convoy of Hope in a campaign to help feed the impoverished around the world. Our One Day to Feed the World campaign is a united act of compassion to help the poor and suffering, says Hal Donaldson, president of Springfield, Mo., based Convoy of Hope. Were thankful for this partnership. Every dollar contributed to Convoy of Hope can provide up to $7 worth of food and supplies that

is delivered through Convoy of Hopes childrens feeding programs, community outreaches and disaster relief efforts. Last year, our church body contributed almost $10,000. Our goal this year: $15,000. Each person is encouraged to give one days wage to help provide food for hungry children. Currently, Convoy of Hope feeds more than 100,000 children every day in Haiti, El Salvador, Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Philippines. Since Convoy of Hope was founded in 1994, it has served more than 50 million people throughout the world. For more information, visit onedaytofeedtheworld.org.

All Nations Christian Fellowship 22 23 24 On call this weekend: Pastor Ray 578-7609

Church office closed No evening service All Nations Christian Fellowship 27 28 Leadership meeting 7pm Royal Rangers, Girls Ministries, The Forge Youth Church 29 30

KidCare Pizza Inn Thanksgiving Din- fundraiser ner 5 pm 25 26

Calendar updates at www.rolla-firstassembly.org/aboutus/calendar

Friday Octo ber 12 through Sunday October 14, our youth group had their annual fall retreat at Whispering Winds Bible Camp in Cooks Station. Forty of our students and leaders spent two incredible days doing activities, having small group prayer and encountering God in our night services. Several students accepted Christ, and everyone had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came as an adult leader or supported our youth financially and in prayer! Pastor Dalton

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1:15, 16 NIV84)
I am continually inspired by our church! I have now been missions coordinator for over a year. Even though I have been going on missions trips for a decade, I really had no idea how much our church did for missions until I started getting more involved with leading in this area! We have so many people who give of their time and talents for missions work. Another team went to Mt. Grace Teen Challenge center this month to work on the construction project and to minister to the girls there. We sponsor an evergrowing list of missionaries each month, and have had a wonderful response to sending letters to some of those missionaries each month. Most exciting to me this month was how all of you all supported the Rx for change program! Our church raised over $1350, enough to care for close to 200 people in a Healthcare ministries outreach! What a blessing this will be to the teams being sent out. Please continue to be praying about how the Lord wants you each to get involved in the missions projects in our church. Next year we tentatively plan to send teams to work on three different MAPS construction projects, one over Spring Break, one in the summer, and one in the fall. We are also planning a couple of projects here at home that would be suitable for families to do together. The missions committee meets every month on the third Wednesday. We would welcome new faces! If you have any questions or suggestions, please email me at missions@rollafirstassembly.org.

Blessings, Kathi

Conway continued from page 1

On Friday, October 19, First Assembly hosted our annual Girls Ministry Sleepover. The theme for this year was Camp Yupik, based on the fishing camps in Alaska and the Eskimos. There were games like a Snowball eating contest, the Know Your Eskimos quiz game, the Dog Sled Races and even an igloo! After that was a time of worship and prayer, along with a devotional. Everyone had a great time, and a special thanks goes to Brylee Feller who put the whole event together for us this year.

God has always been a priority in their lives. God has always been the center of their marriage and has blessed them through trials and good times as well. They had parents that taught them about God, to have good moral values, to always be honest, upstanding citizens, and to be persons of good character. Leon and Linda enjoy watching all kinds of sports, especially if their grandchildren are playing. Leon was quite a basketball player himself when in high school as were their two sons. They both played football and basketball and were very successful players. They also like spending time with family and friends, traveling, going to gospel sings, and working in the yard. Leon and Linda have been attending First Assembly in Rolla for more than two years now and have always felt loved by the people here. They feel blessed to have such caring, loving pastors and to be part of the family of God at First Assembly. God has been good!

The Question Everyone is Afraid to Ask:

Question: How do we know the Bible is true?
Answer: Remember from last month that Christianity is an intelligent faith; we dont have blind faith; there are excellent answers available for our questions. Believing that the Bible is true is a foundational subject for Christians. Let me assure you that there is so much evidence to confirm the accuracy and historicity of the Biblical record, that no one should ever doubt that it is the authoritative revelation from God, true from Genesis to Revelation. The 66 books of the Bible were written by 40 different men in three languages over a time period of about 1600 years, and yet are unified and harmonious indicating that God was the Ultimate Author. 2 Timothy 3:16 states that All Scripture is God-breathed . . . and 2 Peter 1:20, 21 says, Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophets own interpretation...but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. There are well over 3500 phrases in the Bible indicating a communication from God to man. Writers also claimed that God spoke to them or gave them a vision. Here are just a few examples: Exodus 32:16: The tablets [of the Ten Commandments] were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. Isaiah 8:11: The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me... Jeremiah 36:1: In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Romans 3:1&2: What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew... ? Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. Youll have to look up the other hundreds of references on your own. Next month, well discuss what Jesus thought about the Old Testament. Beverly Flori When others find out that we are adopting, there is one question that I am asked more than any other. This popular question isnt asked immediately. It requires a process of 5 questions before the inquirer builds up enough courage to get to the real one. Last month, we looked at the first four questions: How many kids to you have? How many kids are you adopting? What are their special needs? Are these two kids siblings? So then the final question comes. The one they have wanted to ask from the beginning, but were too afraid to. Question #5. Why? Why would you do this? Why do you want to have 6 kids? Why would you have a family of 8 on purpose? Why would you take on so much? Why would you adopt 2 at the same time, especially if they are not related? Why do you want to have a family so big that you have to drive one of those big mega-vans? The answer may seem strange. We want none of those things. We don't want our lives to be incredibly difficult. We never set out to have a family of 8. We never wanted kids with special needs. We don't want to manage wheelchairs and walkers and physical therapy. We don't want to deal with attachment issues. We don't want to add developmental delay to our list of problems. We definitely do not want one of those huge, ugly, white vans. Our Why: We are doing this because we are compelled to. There are two orphans in this world who need a mom and dad. We are doing this because we can. Yes, there are many other things we can do that would be much easier on us. We could spend more time and money on ourselves. We can do short term mission trips with the intent of easing our conscience and longing for something greater. But life is not about arriving at death safely. Life is about giving it all. It is about saying thanks to our God who gave us all by giving everything we can for the good of his kingdom. We will find room for our soon-to-be children in our lives. We will find room for them in our homes. We have already found room for them in our hearts. We choose this for ourselves because we choose to love, and we are going to let God fill in the rest. Question #6. There is one more question to this list. I wish more people would keep going and not stop at #5. I wish they would ask it of themselves. If we dont do this, then who will? Jeremy Staton runs Living Better Stories at http:// www.jeremystatton.com/. Reprinted with permission.

We are launching student missionaries into our public schools! Every Tuesday morning our youth ministry has a Youth Alive outreach meeting with worship time, Bible study, and prayer. We invite new students into a relationship with Jesus and we challenge our students to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit; to be witnesses for Jesus and see the lost won. We would like to thank our faculty advisor Carin Allen for making Youth Alive possible. We are so blessed to have favor with the administration and faculty of Rolla schools. We also have plans to expand this outreach ministry into the Junior High and Middle School soon. If you have questions please contact youth pastor Dalton Avery at pastordalton@rolla-firstassembly.org.

Reference: The Foundations of Christian Doctrine by Kevin J. Conner, Chapter 3

Calling all fifth through seventh graders! In December, we will be attending Xtreme Winter Conference in Branson. The conference includes concerts by Brit Nicole, Newsboys, Tenth Avenue North, and many others along with motivational speakers. For more information about the conference itself, visit www.xtremeconferences.com/winter12/index.html. We will leave at noon on Thursday, December th 27 and return at 5 pm on Saturday the 29th. $100 will cover the cost of the conference, lodging, and food. We only have room for 16 (8 boys and 8 girls), and our deadline for registering is November 15th. See Sam Parker or Brian Feller as soon as possible to sign up, or put your name on the list in the foyer!