Memorial Indian Baptist Church, No. 4 SE Coombs Road, will hold the Southwest Indian Baptist Fellowship Rally at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the church.
Mike Tompkins, director of missions for the Comanche-Cotton Baptist Association, will give the sermon. For praise, there will be a singing bee contest, hymns, tribal songs and special music. A potluck dinner will conclude the day. Saturday, August 28, 2010
First Baptist Church will be a "sweet" spot Thursday for local women to receive biblical training.
The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma's Statewide Women's Enrichment and Education Training workshop, or S.W.E.E.T. Spot, is coming to Lawton. The S.W.E.E.T. Spot training program is designed to help women's ministry leaders in the Baptist church, according to Kelly King, Women's Missions and Ministries Specialist with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, but she added that it is open to any woman.
Dennis Dawson, associate pastor for education at First Baptist Church, said the workshop will help women to utilize the skills God gave them.
S.W.E.E.T. Spot will offer two learning labs for women. In each lab, women will have the opportunity to choose among six courses, allowing women to personalize their experience.
"We will bring some of the best trainers we have in the state," King said. "They are mostly volunteers, but they are professors, authors and public speakers. They are very well traveled in helping to lead women."
In addition to the set curriculum, attendees also will have the opportunity to sign up for the "Baby Boot Camp Learning Lab," which will explain how to begin the Baby Boot Camp Program in Lawton. According to the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma's website, Baby Boot Camp is designed for the newly pregnant mom and her responsibilities physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Saturday, August 28, 2010
"America's worship leader," Dennis Jernigan, will hold a benefit concert Sunday for The Pregnancy Resource Center of Southwest Oklahoma.
Jernigan, a Sapulpa native and father of nine children, said he is honored to take the stage in an effort to raise money in support of the Pregnancy Resource Center.
"The need is great," he said. "First and foremost, I am happy to be able to provide a way to keep the doors open. A lot of girls just don't know where to turn to. To me, it's (Pregnancy Resource Center) vitally important."
Jernigan, who is known for his songs "You Are My All in All," "Nobody Fills My Heart Like Jesus," and "We Will Worship the Lamb of Glory," said worship is an important aspect in finding God's love.
"Worship is more than singing into thin air," he said. "I don't want to sing to someone who is not there. God is here, regardless of what you feel."
After being delivered from a homosexual identity, Jernigan felt a pull on his heart to bring others to Christ's freedom. He said it was his greatest shame and is now his greatest testimony. It took him seven years before he felt comfortable telling his story, but he said, by sharing his testimony, it allowed him to experience God in all of His abundant glory.
"I felt used all the time," he said. "I didn't want my life restored; I wanted freedom. That freedom is vital, because with your freedom comes everything He (God) is." Saturday, August 21, 2010
Rose Hill Church of Christ, 1212 SW Tennessee, will host a clothing giveaway from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Aug. 28.
Clothing for all sizes, from newborns to adults, for men, women and children will be given away. Shoes and odd household items will also be available along with a free meal. For information call 248-4417 or 284-4033. Saturday, August 21, 2010
ALTUS Musicians of all ages and backgrounds will participate in a tribute to Elvis at Altus First Presbyterian Church on Aug. 29.
"Remembering Elvis" is part of the church's Sunday Afternoon Music (SAM) program, which is free and open to the public.
Organizers said they are focusing on Elvis this time to celebrate his 75th birthday earlier this month as well as to highlight his performance at the city auditorium in Altus in June 1955. Saturday, August 21, 2010
Lawton Aldersgate Redemption United Methodist Church is set to begin a new program designed to equip recently released prisoners with the tools needed to be constructive members of society.
"My hope is that we can help people to come out of prison and have a good, productive life," said Becky Baxter-Ballou, pastor at Aldersgate Redemption.
Lawton Redemption Church, which evolved into Aldersgate Redemption in 2005, was established in 2000 by the Rev. Stan Basler, executive director of Criminal Justice and Mercy Ministries Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church; the Rev. Kathryn Leithner, former Lawton District Superintendent for Criminal Justice and Mercy Seat Ministries; Bob Wiseman, Lyle Ball and the Rev. Elijah Mitchell. Baxter-Ballou said that, despite a change in name, the mission of the church has not changed to offer the love and fellowship of Jesus Christ and the church to incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people, and their families. The church provides hot meals, clothing, monetary donations and transportation for inmates in addition to the personal counseling and teaching of the word of God.
"It is an amazing ministry to be in," said Baxter-Ballou, who came to the church in 2005 to become its full-time pastor. Baxter-Ballou also has been serving as assistant director of Criminal Justice and Mercy Ministries in Oklahoma. "In Oklahoma, there are enough incarcerated people to fill Shawnee. There has to be a way to break the cycle."
Recently, Baxter-Ballou was approached to begin offering 100-hour transition classes for newly released inmates. Baxter-Ballou said the classes are required for inmates as a part of their reintegration into local communities. Throughout the 100-hour program, inmates will be taught such things as problem resolution, relapse prevention and family relations, as well as topics to help in employment, such as proper money handling, computer classes, employment opportunities and the application process. Baxter-Ballou said each month 12 offenders will be in the program.
"They are going to be taught cultural competencies," she said. "It will cover a little bit about everything in life. If you eat in a restaurant or go to a car wash ... those are our guys. All of the base things, we don't think about those are the things they are doing." Saturday, August 14, 2010
Several local churches and organizations are teaming up to offer an evening of fun in Bridge Park.
Jeff Henderson, minister of Day Spring Community Church, is helping organize the three-hour event for Aug. 21. Henderson said the groups always have a small gathering in the park, which is located on Southwest D Avenue, but they're making this a special celebration.
"It's kind of an end-of-summer bash in the park," Henderson aid. "We're traditionally out there each week during the afternoon, but this is going to be a little different with some different bands and activities."
The churches and local organizations give clothes and diapers away each week at the park. Organizers usually have a table set up where children can get help with school work with trained tutors. Henderson said if a student has a problem understanding a specific subject, there is always someone who can help. But since school hasn't started yet, he wanted to ensure the children get one last celebration before they return to the classrooms. Saturday, August 14, 2010
Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, No. 7 NE Dr. L. K. Jones, will have an Usher Ministry Workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the church.
Registration will begin at 9 a.m. Cost is $7.50, which includes continental breakfast, lunch and instruction. The workshop will be conducted by Brother Leroy Parker of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Okmulgee. Parker has successfully conducted numerous usher workshops throughout the state of Oklahoma, focusing on preparing and training ushers. Parker has a vast of knowledge that can help your church ushers in the efficient operation and management of their ministry.
Once a month, a local church helps to alleviate pain in the community in a unique way one tooth at a time.
The Calvary Baptist Dental Clinic, which takes place the second Thursday of each month, was established in 1998, and has since become a staple in the church's ministry.
"It is very successful," said Linda Rogers, director of the dental clinic. "We have people come from all over. We are well-known and usually have to turn people away."
Turning people away is the worst part of the clinic, Rogers said, but because of the volunteer status of the dentists and limited supplies, "you have to put some limits on it," she said.
At its max, the clinic will have four dentists, all volunteers, and does its best to see 20-30 patients a week. Patients are served on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional volunteers are provided by Platt College in Lawton, Rogers said, adding that they bring instructors and students to help the dentists with patients. The majority of supplies are purchased with a $500 grant that is provided to Calvary Baptist each year by the Comanche-Cotton Baptist Association, but Rogers said they also rely heavily on monetary donations from church members, dentists and the occasional patient.
"We have had patients give us money right there from their wallet," Rogers said. "It is a completely free clinic and money is never mentioned, so it is always a blessing."
Dr. Phillip Aday has been with the free dental clinic since its inception.
"There is a tremendous need," he said. "A lot of patients don't have dental insurance. They kind of fall between the cracks." Saturday, August 07, 2010
First United Methodist's Celebrate Recovery Ministry, 2602 NW Ferris, continues at 6 p.m. Sunday.
This week will focus on principle 8: "Yield myself to God to be used to bring this good news to others, both by my example and by my words." This lesson will focus on various ways we can begin to serve others. Free child care is available. Saturday, August 07, 2010
Prayer is a powerful weapon against the works of the devil. Throughout the Bible, there are a multitude of passages that outline the importance of an active prayer life.
No one knows that better than Moms in Touch, a worldwide nonprofit prayer group. According to their website, their mission is to impact children and schools worldwide for Christ by gathering mothers to pray.
"Prayer is your side of your relationship with Christ ... it builds excitement," said Betty Van Horn, Oklahoma's State Coordinator for Moms in Touch. "We get to see what God is doing in the lives of our kids and things that are going on in different areas of the school."
Moms in Touch was started by Fern Nichols in 1984. Her children were entering into junior high and to battle her fears and apprehensions, she called like-minded moms and asked if they were interested in meeting to pray for the children and schools. What started that day has now grown into a worldwide family of praying mothers in every state and 120 countries around the world. The Moms in Touch informational booklet has been translated into 38 different languages, Van Horn said.
"It is the biggest blessing," she said. "For women who regularly participate, there is a peace of mind ... it also helps to grow their personal prayer life and relationship with God."
The groups meet wherever they get the opportunity, Van Horn said, ranging from the back of an SUV to community centers. She said it is important that they pray for the schools, but due to legal issues, do not pray at the school.
At each meeting mothers are handed a prayer sheet and stick to the scriptures on the sheet to maintain focus on why they are meeting.
"They are very short, very specific prayers over a number of subjects," she said. "It keeps us praying and focused."
Throughout the prayers, the mothers take turns placing their own children's names in the scripture specific prayers as well as the rest of the student body and administration, Van Horn said, adding that by the end of the year each student and faculty member has been prayed for. Saturday, July 31, 2010
Northwest Baptist Church, 1601 NW 52nd, will have a free concert at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Shiloh, a Texas-based trio known for its unique and progressive southern gospel, will perform. The trio has had special performances at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, and the 2006 Pageant of Peace Christmas Program at the White House. Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tabernacle of Praise Church will provide "lyrical Levites" with the opportunity to display their creativity tonight at the church.
"That's what we call them here," said Pastor Julius D. Williams, adding that "lyrical Levites" is their name for spiritually motivated performers. "It can be a rap, poem, dance or whatever you have in mind. You can express yourself in your own way."
The open mic night is entitled "Praise Poet 2" and is a follow-up to last year's inaugural event. The idea for the event spawned out of thoughts that many church members do not get the opportunity to express their spiritual creativity while sitting as a member of a congregation, Williams said, adding that, while it is open to everyone who wants to be heard, its aim is to attract the younger generations.
"It is very important for the younger segments," he said. "It is spiritual self-expression. There are so many different elements to it, geared towards the young folk."
One of those is the environment. The evening is designed to be a relaxed atmosphere, Williams said, citing that there is no dress code to attend, and refreshments will be served to guests. The lights will be dimmed, with only the running lights up and a spotlight on the performer. "We want it to be subdued," he said. "Just a nice night to come hang out and enjoy the performances."
At the first open mic night there were rap performances, dances and performances by young people who were really ministering to the crowd, Williams said. After the success of the first event, the church was excited to host a second night for the community. They are hoping the idea will catch on and become an annual event. Saturday, July 24, 2010
Mount Calvary Baptist Church, 902 W. Lee, will have a youth choir workshop at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the church. A musical will be presented at 3:30 p.m. Aug. 1 at the church.
The workshop is open to all choirs from other churches. Call 248-5485. Saturday, July 24, 2010
After three years as an infantryman in the U.S. Army, Chaplain 1st Lt. Boaz Vituk is finally fulfilling his calling in life as a rabbi the youngest of eight rabbis serving in the Army.
Vituk studied Judaism in his native Israel, as well as in England and New York and is now chaplain for the 1st Battalion, 19th Field Artillery one of five battalions in the 434th Field Artillery Brigade. According to the Army Chaplain Corps website, Army chaplains are expected to observe the distinctive doctrines of their faith while also honoring the right of others to observe their own faith.
Vituk has embraced his role, and is looking forward to helping his fellow soldiers in spiritual guidance and growth. He said he has two goals in mind while serving at Fort Sill: to give basic trainees a spiritual boost and energy and strength in their faith and to look into the Jewish roots of soldiers and help those who are new to Judaism. Saturday, July 17, 2010
