Tonight's Bible study in the small dining room is canceled, as Jessie is not feeling well today. All other activities will proceed as usual this evening.

"Hitting the Ball"

Earlier this year, Parker told me that he wanted to learn how to play golf. Though we have not yet played a round at a golf course, we have been practicing in the backyard with foam golf balls. I have really enjoyed passing on my love for golf to our boys (a sport I have played very little since they were born). They have picked it up much faster than I did when I began playing in high school. However, it wasn’t until I began teaching them the mechanics of a golf swing that I realized how complicated it can be for someone who has never played. There is nothing simple about it; there is a lot to remember. After watching Parker stand over the ball for what seemed like hours, trying to get his hands, arms, shoulders, legs, and feet into the perfect position, I finally had to gently encourage him to just “hit the ball.”

Parker’s hesitation to hit the ball was not his fault. I had spent so much time explaining and demonstrating the proper mechanics of a swing that I had forgotten to teach him the most important part—hitting the ball. I decided at that point to change my strategy for teaching them how to play. Rather than trying to get the mechanics of their swing perfect from the beginning, I have started encouraging them to just “hit the ball” and we will work on the proper mechanics as we go. Though form matters, by giving so much attention to the swing itself, the golf ball never moved.

According to author and church consultant Gil Rendle, overly focusing on technique can have the same effect on organizations. He compares it to the basic technique of ready-aim-fire in target practice. Though aiming is essential to hitting a target, we will never hit the target if we do not take a shot. He believes that organizations can easily get caught in the trap of aiming for so long that they never actually take a shot. In response, he encourages churches to change the ordering of this basic target practice method to ready-fire-aim. Rather than trying to perfect our aim before we fire, Rendle challenges churches to aim as they fire. In other words, we “hit the ball” and then keep assessing and learning how to hit it better as we go.

This continues to be our strategy for our weeknight worship service. We began this service on Tuesday nights last fall as a holy experiment. After getting the feedback of those who were leading and participating, we paused the service for the month of December, made some adjustments based on what we learned, and then tried again in January. One of the modifications we made was to move the service to Wednesday nights so that families would have access to our children’s activities, which was unavailable on Tuesday nights.

Though the Wednesday night service has gone well and we have established a core group of worshippers, we believe it is time to pause this service once again for the summer months, evaluate what we have learned, make some adjustments, and try again in the fall. This service continues to be a holy experiment. We are currently seeking the feedback of our Wednesday night participants, and using the summer months to assess, discuss, and discern how we can refine it in order to bring it back even stronger in the fall.

Our last weeknight night worship service for this season will be next Wednesday, May 1 at 6:30pm in the sanctuary. If you have not had an opportunity to worship with us on Wednesdays, we invite you to join us. If you know someone who cannot worship on Sundays and might be interested in an alternative, please invite them to our Wednesday night service. Thank you for the opportunity to continue trying new things and discovering different ways to reach our community. We are thankful for what we have learned thus far, and look forward to the renewed ways in which God will lead us to return on Wednesday nights in the fall.

-- Travis   

This Sunday @ VBC

We are so excited for Baptism Sunday, as we currently have a total of 13 children, teens, and adults who are scheduled to be baptized this weekend! Travis will wrap up his sermon series on the fruits of the spirit with "Hope?" based in Romans 5:1-5. If you cannot join us in person at 10:30 AM, you can livestream at www.vintonbaptistchurch.org and on our Facebook group page.

Our BBQ Luncheon Fundraiser is also scheduled for this Sunday. If you purchased tickets, please head to the kitchen after worship to pick up your meal(s). You are invited to eat in the gym and enjoy fellowship, trivia, and games. Or you can get your meal(s) to go. It's not too late to order tickets - we can take orders for a few more meals. Please call the church office at 540-343-7685 as soon as possible. Thanks so much for supporting youth missions!

The Preteens (3rd - 5th graders) have a trip planned this Sunday to Snowflex, 2:00 - 6:00 PM. If you have any questions, see Jessie Burgess.

Please note that the church office will close at 4:00 PM this Friday, April 26th.

JOY Seniors Activities

If you signed up to go to The Blue Lady Restaurant on Tuesday, April 30th, the bus will leave VBC at 10:45 AM. If you are driving, please be at the restaurant by 11:30 AM. This trip is full, so if your plans have changed, please call the church office ASAP (540-343-7685) so that we can fill your spot from the waiting list. Thank you!

The JOY Seniors will go to Attic Productions to see Dearly Beloved on Saturday, May 4th. It's not too late to sign up, but please do so as soon as possible. The bus will leave the church at 1:15 PM. If you plan to drive, please indicate that on the sign-up sheet and plan to be at the theater by 2:15 PM.

You do not want to miss the May luncheon! Our entertainment will be "The Brothers Young," a bluegrass group of two young brothers. Our lunch will be provided by McAlister's Deli, and the cost is $10. The date is May 21st (a bit earlier than most due to Memorial Day), so sign up at the JOY Senior table, mark your calendars, and come enjoy the fun and fellowship.

September 24th - 26th, the JOY Seniors will take a trip to Lancaster, Philadelphia and Baltimore, Maryland. Since this is a shared trip with Bonsack Baptist, seats will be limited, so sign up early to reserve your spot. See the JOY Senior brochure (located at the JOY Senior table) for details about costs and itinerary.

Join Us for a Cinco de Mayo Extravaganza!

On Saturday, May 4th at 3:00 PM, Mariachi Alegria, a talented Mariachi band consisting of acoustic guitars, violin, trumpet, harmonica, accordion, maracas, and other percussion instruments, will don their sombreros and sequined outfits and lead this cross-cultural concert celebration. Singers will perform a broad selection of Mexican and southwest tunes sung in English and Spanish. Traditional dancers will dazzle us with their large, colorful dresses and choreography. This concert will be a cultural event for our community to come together, celebrate diversity, and bask in the beauty of art that transcends boundaries. Richard Rudolph, the director of the steel drum Christmas events we have come to love, is also the director/coordinator of this group. So plan to come out and have some fun! Admission is free; an offering will be taken.

Ministry Matters

We have our next Ministry Matters meeting scheduled for Sunday, May 19th at 5:00 PM in the gym. Among other business, we will have a brief overview of Realm, our church management software, and how it can be utilized for better communication among our church family. If you would like to get set up on Realm, bring your phone, tablet, laptop, or other mobile device, and we'll walk you through the process.

Jack & Velma Kendrick

1501 Chestnut Mountain Drive

Vinton VA 24179-1744

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Weeknight Worship: 35

Sunday, April 21, 2024

Sunday School: 213

10:30 AM Worship:

• 344 in person
• 298 online

Thank you to the Alma Hunt Circle for their donation to Passport Camp.

Please extend an "official" welcome to the following new members who joined VBC this past Sunday:

Welcome to Patrick, Jessica, & Avery Harper. Patrick and Jessica joined by letter, and Avery joined by profession of faith and will be baptized Sunday. They are shown here with Charlotte, who was baptized at VBC last year. Their address is 1745 Meadows Road, Vinton VA 24179.

We also welcome the following youth, who all joined by profession of faith:

Colin (left) and Landon (right) Rodgers, sons of Justin & Lori Rodgers. Their address is 2706 Matthew Drive, Vinton VA 24179.

Emma and Owen Rupe, children of Mandie & Chris Rupe. Their address is 4227 Denbeigh Circle, Vinton VA 24179.

Aubrey Booze, daughter of Paula & George Booze. Their address is 2701 Fountain Lane, Vinton VA 24179.

Dawson Young, son of J.R. & Leah Young. Their address is 956 Emerald Drive, Vinton VA 24179.

Rylan Lang, daughter of Lisa & Travis Lang. Their address is 2503 Bloomfield Avenue, Roanoke VA 24012.

Bible Reading Plan

Just a quick note:

We are working our way through the minor prophets on our two-year Bible reading plan and will be finished with the Old Testament by mid-May. If you couldn't commit to reading the Bible through in two years, that's okay. I want to invite you to join us in May when we start the New Testament and stick with us through the end of this year, which will take us through Revelation. You can print a copy of our reading plan by clicking here, you can pick one up at the Welcome Center, or you can access it through our VBC app.

Over the next week, we will spend one day in Obadiah (today), one in Jonah, three in Micah, one in Nahum, and one in Habbakuk. It would be impossible to go through all of those books in this limited space, so I suggest that you take a look at this video from BibleProject about the prophets in general (major and minor). Then, if you would like to dig further, use the search feature at bibleproject.com to search for the book overview of each of the minor prophets. Each video ranges from 5 to 10 minutes. When you start a new book, just pull up the video to get an introduction. I listened to the Obadiah overview this morning, and it was very helpful. Happy reading!

-- Kim

Reminder from Carrie Tolley, Finance Administrator

If you have receipts for which you need reimbursement, please fill out a Check Request Form and attach your receipt(s) to it before leaving them for me to review. Check Request Forms are available on the clipboard beside my office door. The completed form, with receipts attached, should be left in the inbox on my office door. I check this box at least twice a week. If a form is not included with your receipts, I do not know who to pay or what budget line item to post the expense to. Thanks for your help in streamlining the process of cutting reimbursement checks by providing all requested info.

-- Carrie

Graduate Info Needed

Graduate Recognition Sunday is May 19th. If you or someone in your family is graduating from high school, college, or grad school this year, please email kim@vintonbaptistchurch.org or call the church office at 540-343-7685 to let us know the following: name of graduate, school, any special honors, type of degree, future plans (example: if/where they will attend college or military service, or what career they are pursuing), and whether they will be able to attend worship May 19th. If your graduate cannot attend May 19th, we would still like to have their information so that we can recognize them in The Witness. Thank you!

Duke Divinity School Graduation

Travis officially finished his coursework at Duke Divinity School last fall. He will formally graduate from Duke the second weekend in May. We know that you want to share your congratulations and words of affirmation with him. There is a table set up in the Welcome Center with cards available for you to do so.

New Books for Young Readers:

• Afternoon on the Amazon, #6 in the Magic Tree House graphic novel series
• Favorite Parables from the Bible by Nick Butterworth
• What Do I Do with Anger? by Dr. Josh & Christi Straub
• Your Brave Song by Ann Voskamp
• A Party to Remember by Tim Tebow
• Innis & Ernest by Carissa Shillito

Come "check them out"!

Thank you so much for the cards, calls, emails, texts, and visits while I have been nursing a broken tibia and fibula. Your concern and love have blessed my soul. Your prayers have been felt and answered. Praise the Lord! Blessings to all!

Joy Wright