February 2018

GROWING TOGETHER.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

We are at the end of our first month of 2018.  This is a busy time all around and at our office.  We are working with our new bookkeepers on end-of-the-year books for the first time.  We are also getting everything set up for a new year for the first time.  Any time you walk through firsts with someone doing your bookkeeping, there can be bumps and challenges; but I appreciate the Southern Baptist of Texas Foundation and their work in helping us in this transition.  It is a good working relationship.  I appreciate June Highlan, who continues to troubleshoot for us when the bumps get a little confusing and rough.  In spite of retirement, she has continued to help us.  I also appreciate Paul O'Dell's willingness to be flexible and pick up some responsibilities in coordinating with the SBTF.  In fact, we have added hours to his week because of the added responsibilities for this part of the job.

Attached to this Constant Contact is a 2017 year-end Cooperative Program giving report.  When I became your Executive Director in 2012 we set a 20/20 goal to reach $400,000 in Cooperative Program giving from our churches by 2020.  God has blessed our churches and have blessed our convention in steady Cooperative Program giving growth since setting that goal.  In 2017, we received $388,000+ from our churches.  We are $12,000 away from reaching our 20/20 goal.  Thank you Dakota churches for your faithfulness in giving to the Cooperative Program.  It enables us to fuel missions, not only in the Dakotas, but across North America and the world.

Let me be quick to add this as well.  Since 2012, we have increased the percentage of Cooperative Program funds sent on to the SBC.  In 2012, we sent 16% to the SBC.  This year we stand at 26%.  Our goal is to keep less and give more!  Thanks for your help so we can do just this!
COOPERATIVE PROGRAM REPORT FOR 2017
Year-end look at DBC Church Giving

Thank you for another record year of giving to the Cooperative Program!  We continue to grow in our giving to ministries in the Dakotas and around the world.  You can see our year-end report by clicking on the link below.


SPIRITUAL COACHING WORKSHOP
April 11-13 at LifeChurch in Fargo, ND

The Dakota Baptist Convention, in partnership with Blackaby International, will be hosting another Blackaby Spiritual Coaching Workshop.  This time the workshop will be in Fargo, North Dakota at LifeChurch.

The cost for the workshop is $349 if you register before March 12th.  There are scholarships being offered by the DBC for DBC pastors and church leaders.

The workshop includes 16 hours of practical training, a course manual, meals, conversation and questions and answers with Richard Blackaby.  It will begin at 8:30 am Wednesday, April 11, and conclude Friday, April 13, at 3 pm.

A block of hotel rooms has been reserved at the Radisson Hotel.  When you register, please let us know if you will need a room.  Rooms will be provided for DBC pastors and leaders.  You will need to have reserved your room through the DBC by March 10.

You can register using the "Sign up today." link below.  If you have any questions, please call the DBC office at 605-716-0130 or email Paul O'Dell at [email protected].

ANNUAL CHURCH PROFILE (ACP)
If you have not turned in your ACP, you have until the end of February to do so. 

Please contact Karen Holmes, [email protected], for access to your ACP if you cannot find the packet that the SBC sent to your church.  

This information helps the SBC see where we are headed as a national convention.  It is also required to remain in good standing (meaning it is a requirement to vote) with the Dakota Baptist Convention.

MINISTRY RETREAT FOR SOUTH DAKOTA
May 24-26 at Cambria Hotel in Rapid City, SD

Last summer we held a ministry retreat for those pastors and leaders, as well as their wives, that lived in North Dakota. 

This spring, we will be hosting a ministry retreat for single pastors and leaders or married pastors and leaders, along with their wives, that minister in South Dakota.

The retreat will include times of worship, preaching, fellowship, meals and free times.  We will also be dealing with topics of stress.  There will even be a night of entertainment and supper at the Fort Hays Chuckwagon. 

It will all begin with supper at 6 pm on May 24th and end at 11 am on May 26th.

Please be on the lookout for an invitation in your mailbox soon!

 
2018 Youth Camp

June 4-8 @ Crystal Springs Bible Camp, Medina, ND
 
More details, including price, will be available by the end of the week.
YOUTH SUMMER INTERNSHIPS
Application deadline set for April 1, 2018

The calendar has showed 2018 for almost a month now, which means that summer will be here before we know it. We have an opportunity for students and churches to partner together for the Kingdom this summer and I would like to share a little bit about it with you.

The Dakota Baptist Convention is looking for students between the ages of 16-21 to serve as summer missionaries around the Dakotas in the summer of 2018. I know first-hand, having served two summers in ministry during my college years, how God can use summer missions in developing a deeper passion for service in His Kingdom. Summer is a great time for ministry in the Dakotas and we want to help our churches and students partner together and see lives changed.

There are three ways in which you can be involved in this ministry. Students can apply to serve this summer in one of our churches in the Dakotas. Our churches can apply to have a student intern come and serve in areas of ministry in your community; or if you have identified a student or intern already, you can apply for funding. Everyone can pray for our churches, our students, and communities around the Dakotas this summer.

It is our prayer that God would use this to reach people and grow His Kingdom here in the Dakotas with the knowledge that the impact will continue to go on well beyond this summer. Go to http://www.dakotabaptist.com/student-summer-mission-internship/ for more details and guidelines for this summer. 

Application deadline for this summer is April 1, 2018.