I wanted to let you know about an upcoming sermon series that will begin on January 22. We will be spending five weeks talking about our mission as a church. You may remember talking about this in August; we affirmed a new mission statement at this time. However, we have not spent much time digging deep into this statement. I hope that through this sermon series you will develop a distinctive understanding of who we are and who we are called to be as a church. This past fall, a Ball State student developed artwork around the statement; we will unveil one piece at a time over these five weeks.

You can read through the mission statement documentation at http://fbcmuncie.org/why-we-exist/ . I would encourage you to take a few minutes and read through this description of our mission statement.

A Spirit-led people gathered to care for and empower each other by stewarding God’s resources to impact our community for Christ

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. I look forward to serving with you in Christ’s mission in 2012.

Here is a schedule for the series:

• January 22 – Gather
• January 29 – Care
• February 5 – Empower
• February 12 – Steward
• February 19 – Impact

I will not detail the discussions about meeting on Christmas Eve versus Christmas Day. However, I do want to let you know about five combined services that will be taking place at First Baptist Church Muncie in the next two months, due to holidays as well as other traditional celebrations.

There has been consideration given to holding combined services at 10:30 a.m., but much discussion among members of Church Council has resulted in a decision to have the combined services at 11:15. To have anything other than 9:15 or 11:15 means that 3 events would have to be changed (Early service, Sunday school, Late service). In the past, this has proved to be very confusing for those who are loosely connected with our church and for those in the community. This past Easter, we met at 10:45 AM; at 11:15 AM some 40 people walked in during the middle of the service. There were also many questions as to when/whether Sunday school would be held. Having the combined service at 11:15 AM only requires one change.Those who attend early service will need to adjust their schedules for the day, but the later service provides consistency for our community and prospective visitors. Meeting at 9:15 AM would also provide consistency, but it is difficult for families with young children to attend. This decision is not preferring one group of people over another. It is simply a matter of timing and consistency to accommodate the most people.

We are one church; observing these holidays and special times together in one body is a wonderful way to celebrate. After the holidays, the early and late services will resume their normal times. We typically do not do have this number of combined services in such a short period of time. This year is different because both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are on a Sunday.

We hope that you will mark these dates on your calendar and plan to attend the special services as follows:

• Sunday, November 20 – Harvest Dinner Worship 11:15 AM (a special Thanksgiving lunch will be provided following the service and will be joined by Riverside Baptist Church)

• Sunday, December 18 – Cantata 11:15 AM

• Saturday, December 24 – Christmas Eve Service 7:00 PM

• Sunday, December 25 – Christmas Day Worship 11:15 AM *

• Sunday, January 1 – New Year’s Day Worship 11:15 AM *

*There will be no children’s Sunday school on December 25 and January 1. Other Sunday school classes may choose to meet. Talk to your Sunday school leaders as to whether your class is going to meet on these days