Post-Easter Preaching Amid Pandemic Webinar

May 7, 2020

May 12, 2020 - 11:00 a.m. EDT

This webinar will feature various perspectives on preaching in the context of COVID-19, including following the lectionary, utilizing sermon series, and choosing texts week by week. We will discuss the process of discerning what to preach, the challenges of preaching online only, and sermonic themes such as hope, encouragement, and perseverance.

Panelists:

Christy Foldenauer, Senior Pastor, Tomahawk Baptist Church, Midlothian, VA
Herbert L. Ponder, Pastor, Mount Tabor Baptist Church, Richmond, VA
Tom Stocks, Lead Pastor, Bon Air Baptist Church, Richmond, VA

May 19, 2020

11:00 a.m. EDT

Register now for the next BGAV Town Hall meeting this Tuesday, May 19, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. This will be an important time of discussion featuring John Upton, Executive Director, David Washburn, Treasurer, and Chris Backert, National Director of Fresh Expressions US.

They'll be looking at several critical issues facing our churches, such as:

considerations regarding how and/or whether to meet physically once our state restrictions allow for some measure of in-person gatherings
resources and guidelines as issued from the CDC and Virginia Department of Health for faith-based communities
pre-planning now about how to retain the positives we've learned as we attempt to balance the two world we now live in--things the Church won't want to lose as we begin to put our energy into regathering

Summer Missions Announcements

We definitely find ourselves living in a different world today with very little idea of what our new “normal” might be. But, until we do discover that new reality, we invite you to continue your missional engagement in the areas mentioned in the video. Dates for several of these opportunities are listed below along with links to other information that we hope you find helpful. View the video.

Partnership Missions Conversations

Please join us over the next few weeks for conversations with some of our mission partners. We’d like to experience a broader, international perspective - on how we fit into what God is doing in the world. In the month of May we will consider the expression, “God’s mission has a church.” If that’s true, what are the implications for the way we do things, and our relationship to the community? June is dedicated to the way God calls us into the mission, both as individuals and as a gathering of believers. Finally, in July, we’ll discuss how culture, faith, and nationality affect the way we relate to other people.

Let’s listen together and learn from some voices we don’t get to hear every day!

Thursday Reflections on our Mission - May 21, 10:00 a.m. EDT
Thursday Reflections on our Call - June 4 and June 18, 10:00 a.m. EDT
Thursday Reflections on our Worldview - July 2 and July 16, 10:00 a.m. EDT

Contact Craig Waddell with questions.

Crisis Care: Traumatic Stress

by Kristen Curtis

In my small town of Farmville, VA, my children had a half day of school on March 12 and a planned teacher work day on March 13. Little did we know on the afternoon of March 12 that it would be their last day of school for the year and that our lives would take a drastic turn towards life almost exclusively at home--no softball and baseball, no spring dances, no in-person church, probably no summer camps, and lots and lots of togetherness (with all the joys and challenges that go with it).