Tonight

Tonight is our Ministry Matters meeting at 6:15 PM in the gym. Dinner begins at 5:30 PM for those who signed up. The Youth Missions Group will head to Children's Chapel at the Rescue Mission at 6:00 PM. Children's Choirs will have their end-of-year activities, and Praise Team will rehearse at 6:15 PM. Chancel Choir will rehearse, as usual, at 7:30 PM. Tonight is our last Wednesday of regularly scheduled events until fall.

Bible Reading Plan

Can you believe we've already finished the first 6 books of the Bible, as well as most of the Psalms? If you started our Bible Reading Plan but haven't been able to keep up, feel free to push RESET and join us in Judges now. You can come back to anything you missed at a later time. Just work on keeping up with each day from here forward. If you haven't started our Bible Reading Plan at all, you're invited to join us now. Just start with Judges, and we'll read through the rest of the Bible together over the next year and a half.

A few notes about Judges from Fee & Stuart's book How to Read the Bible Book by Book:

1. The main themes revolve around the Israelites' failure to be obedient to God's commands and the resulting consequences. The primary avenue of disobedience is in the Israelites' failure to drive out the indigenous people in the land of Canaan. The result is that those people - and especially their religions - become problematic for the Israelites (which is what God had previously warned them would happen).
2. Fee & Stuart explain that the "judges" ("shophetim") are mostly "military leaders and clan chieftains." Each judge is not to be understood as a leader over all the tribes of Israel collectively. Instead, these are leaders over smaller groups, and the narrative applies to what's going on with smaller groups instead of the entire nation of Israel at any given time. The fact that there is not a leader over the entire nation (a king) comes into play as the narrative progresses.
3. Fee & Stuart also note that the various narratives dealing with each judge are not intended to be understood chronologically; any of these narratives could be happening concurrently with another narrative since none of them involve the nation as a whole. However, the narrative does indicate that things in the Israelite territory are getting progressively worse as time goes on.
4. The book of Judges mentions a total of 12 judges, although only 6 of those have some type of narration dedicated to them. The focus is not necessarily on the judges themselves, as it is on "God's constant rescue of his people, despite their habitual failure to keep covenant with him...."

Click here for a printable copy of our Bible Reading Plan, or access it through our mobile app. I would love to get your feedback as we work our way through Judges.

-- Kim

This Sunday, May 21st:

Graduate Recognition Sunday

This Sunday we'll be recognizing and celebrating our high school and college graduates! The Youth Praise Band will lead music in both services. Whitney will bring the message, which is titled "A Transformer" and is based in 1 Timothy 4:10-16. We're also looking forward to the Youth Choir sharing their talents. If you cannot join us in person, tune in through our website or Facebook group page.

ATTENTION: GRADUATES AND PARENTS - If you are (or have) a high school or college graduate and have not yet contacted the church office with details, please do so this week. You can email kim@vintonbaptistchurch.org. Even if your graduate cannot attend one of our morning worship services this Sunday, we still want to recognize each graduate in next week's Witness. If your graduate can worship with us this Sunday, please let us know which service they plan to attend; they should arrive half an hour early to meet Whitney in the church library. We ask that graduates wear their cap and gown.

Youth Choir Mission Tour Meeting

At Youth Choir rehearsal this Sunday (5:00 PM), we will have a meeting of parents and youth participating in the Youth Choir Mission Tour to Niagara Falls. Please pay any remaining balance you owe toward the trip by Sunday. If only one parent is going with the child, the other parent must assign permission to the one going to take the child across the border. This document must also be notarized. There are pre-worded documents available online (Google search: permission to take a minor over the border) or you can see Chris. All participants must make a copy of your passport/passport card and give to Chris so he can send the group's documents ahead to the border crossing.

Our itinerary is as follows:

• Saturday, June 3 - Depart VBC and sing at the VA Veterans Center; drive to Pittsburgh, PA
• Sunday, June 4 - Sing for morning worship at First Baptist Church, Pittsburgh, PA; lunch to follow; sing for Southwest PA Veterans Home; drive to Erie, PA
• Monday, June 5 - Clean-up projects for The Community Shelter of Erie, serve lunch and sing for the residents; drive to Buffalo, NY; evening chapel service, crafts, and games for the Buffalo Women and Children’s Center
• Tuesday, June 6 - Cross the border into Canada; drive to Toronto to assist 2 churches with work projects; sing in the afternoon; drive to Niagara Falls, experience the board walk and activities at Clifton Hill, walk down to see the Falls at night.
• Wednesday, June 7 - Tour and enjoy the Falls attractions; cross back into the U.S. and drive to Slippery Rock, PA
• Thursday, June 8 - Return to Vinton, VA

Please pray for our safety and well-being as we share and minister in each setting.

--Chris

Graduate Bibles

Bibles for our high school seniors are available in the Welcome Center so that you may mark your favorite verse, include words of encouragement, and direct our graduates in their path. Please take a few moments between now and Friday to write in these Bibles and support our graduates through this tradition. Bibles will be awarded during worship this Sunday.

WBHS Baccalaureate

Vinton Baptist is honored to host the William Byrd High School Baccalaureate, sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, this Sunday, May 21st at 6:00 PM in the sanctuary.

Preteens Event this Sunday

Preteens (3rd - 5th graders), if you would like to go with us to Treetop Quest this Sunday, you must sign up TODAY in order to make sure we have a ticket for you. The cost is $15/student. Plan to meet us at Treetop Quest at 2:45 PM. Sign up by clicking here. A waiver is also required - click here.

JOY Seniors

The next JOY Senior Luncheon is next Tuesday, May 23rd at noon in the gym. Our menu is chicken salad croissant, pasta salad, tossed salad, dessert, & water. Lunch is $10/person. Our program is First Aid & Fall Prevention by Brian Clingenpeel. Sign up and pay for lunch at the JOY Senior table by Friday. Feel free to come for the program if you can't join us for lunch.

Those who have signed up for our Christmas in July outing to Wohlfahrt Haus Thursday, July 13th should also make sure that you have paid the $60 fee. Your payment is your reservation. A wait list is now available. Checks can be made to VBC JOY Seniors.

Sign-ups are ongoing for our October 17th - 20th trip to Kentucky to visit the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum, as well as enjoy a riverboat dinner cruise on the Ohio River. You can set up a payment plan if needed (see Mary Kendrick).

Summer Youth Schedule

PGA Youth Camp has been scheduled at Camp Alta Mons for July 28th - 30th. The cost is $90 for the weekend, and space is limited, so please sign up ASAP. Click here for a registration form; please mark your payment for "PGA Youth Camp."

Our Summer 2023 schedule is officially available! Click here for a list of our planned activities.

Mark Your Calendars:

Upcoming Schedule Change

Please note that on Sunday, June 4th there will be NO morning worship services or Sunday School classes due to the road closures and traffic/congestion associated with the Ironman competition here in our area. Instead, we will worship together at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, May 31st. Everyone is welcome to join us in the sanctuary for a regular worship service, which will be recorded at that time and then broadcast via our website Sunday morning, June 4th. We hope you'll join us for mid-week worship on May 31st!

Vacation Bible School

This year's VBS theme is STELLAR: Shine Jesus' Light! We will explore space and how out of this world our love for Jesus is!

VBS will look a little different this year. It will take place July 23rd - 27th, 5:30 - 8:00 PM daily. From 5:30 - 6:00 PM, dinner will be offered in the classrooms, delivered by our dinner leaders and helpers. At 6:00 PM we will begin rotations. Each crew will stick together most of the time in their own room for Bible study/story, crafts, games, and science experiments. Crews will leave their rooms for rotations in music (led by Chris & Mary Beth) and games/rec, as well as to attend the opening and closing ceremonies. Crews will be divided by grade/age level, and our goal is to stick to 8-12 kids per crew. So we definitely need crew leaders! Crew leaders and helpers will be invited to training sessions at the beginning of the summer to receive decor for your room, lesson plans, and materials that you need.

We will have a preschool experience led by Jessica Brewer that will still go out to games and music, but also operate on their own in a smaller setting.

We will need help with registration, dinner leaders/helpers, crew leaders/helpers, and games & rec leaders/helpers. Please click here to register as a volunteer. If you have a youth who would like to help, feel free to register them as a helper in any area they would like to serve. See Jessie Burgess, Christina Epperly, or Whitney Russell with questions.

NOTE: The above link can also be used to register your child(ren) for VBS now!

Kathi Pennington

The Glebe - Chaplick Center

250 Ellison Circle West MC# 125

Daleville VA 24083

Thank you to the Open Door Sunday School class for their donations to Kids' Passport Camp, Boys & Girls Club summer camp, and the Food Pantry.

Christian sympathy is extended to the family and friends of Teresa Callahan Martin, who passed away May 13th.

Annie Mae Broyles Associational Missions

The RVBA Associational Missions Offering is named in memory of Miss Annie Mae Broyles, the first Missionary Director of the first Baptist Mission Center opened by the RVBA in 1939. The majority of funds donated to this annual campaign remain here in the Roanoke Valley to help organizations like Friendship House, Keystone Community Center, Lampstand, and Christian Soldiers' Food Pantry. Please note that the offering envelope may simply say "Associational Missions Special Offering." Our church goal is $2,200. Please help us make a difference in local missions through donating to this campaign.

Blessing Box Needs

Dish soap, Spam, Vienna sausages, and peanut butter are our current needs for the Blessing Box. Donations can be dropped in the appropriate bin at the Missions Tables. Thank you so much for helping meet the needs of our community!

Nursery Position Open

We currently have a part-time (fill-in) position available in our church Nursery. This position is a back-up for sickness, vacation, and extra help, as needed. The hourly wage is $12. We are accepting applications from church members before posting publicly. Please contact Terry Hough (mthough@cox.net) if interested.

My Church Family,

Thank you so much for your prayers, support, and the beautiful plant during this time of sorrow in losing my mama.

Love in Christ, Deborah Rogers Bohon