Good Afternoon FBC Family and Friends,

We have our Food Distribution this Thursday from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm. All other activities from the center are closed until January 8th. During the break, I will be working on painting, organizing the diaper room, making Kids Club changes and schedule and reaching out to “The 100” on our first meeting in February 2018. If you have any suggestions on types of ministries the center could be involved in 2018, please send your suggestions to ministry@friendshipbaptistcenter.org. Here is a quick update on the ministries happening at the Center.

Kids Club (Avg 40 + for combined both days)
Had their Christmas party this past week and it was a joy to be a part of. Had some quirks that will be worked out before next year but overall a fantastic experience. Thank you, FBC family. We also had the Christmas brunch on Saturday and was filled at times. ***Side note, people, love popcorn*** Must have gone through 30+ bags of popcorn that day. It was a great blessing and thankful to the volunteers who showed up, made blankets and bought Walmart gift cards to be handed out.

Disciples Youth Group(Avg 13 kids):
Is moving to Friday’s in 2018. If you would like to volunteer to bring a meal, please email Chris at disciples@friendshipbaptistcenter.org and he will put you on the schedule. Disciples Youth Group will have its winter retreat at Seven Oaks on February 9, 2018.  Cost is $13 per student for 2 hours of snow tubing and $6 for each additional hour. If you would like to sponsor a child for this winter retreat, please write “Disciples Retreat” on the For line of the check. The center will pay for any child who is not sponsored, and for renting a van to get to Boone, Iowa. Also, looking for a Fall Retreat for the Disciples Group. So if you know of any camps or places we could take them too, please let Chris know.

Building Updates:
We now have ADT for the security of our building. As of this morning, a local non-profit was broken into and items stolen from their place. The FBC has offered to donate money for their repairs if needed. Have not heard back from them. So if you volunteer at the center and have a key, please call me before entering the Center so you won’t be visited by Des Moines’s finest!!!! My cell number is 515.729.3267

We are changing the Front Door entry and will be receiving a new door and entrance in January. We have been having issues lately with securing the door and will change the way it is swung. Please use the Front door for entering the Center.

Thank you for a fantastic month and a half here at the center, and I look forward to working with you all in 2018. If you have not donated in the fourth quarter, please consider doing so.

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Merry Christmas,
Joe

Kids Club

You read last week that  we want you to know more about the ministries offered at the Friendship Baptist Center. Each of these ministries are intended to foster community as well as minister to a different part of the neighborhood. At the end of this highlight you will find a list of ways to help or contribute. Consider how you might be able to be a part of this community with us!

This week let’s think about Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons at the Center.

After school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays children (grades K-6) are invited to come to the Friendship Baptist Center for homework help, fellowship time, Bible study, and supper. This is a rich time to get to know each other and invest in the lives of children.

Our adult and teen volunteers work one on one with children with their homework or with quality skill reinforcement exercises. Whether it is something they are doing for their teacher in the classroom or a math or reading skill they are improving on, each week the children at the Center are learning.

Working with children (especially year after year) is such a rewarding experience. Volunteers get to watch a child grow up before their eyes. They get to see children become young men and women who then can come back and help others to grow and become men and women as well. Isn’t that a good description of community? We are there for one another, and we get to pass the baton on. That is what the long-term volunteers at the Friendship Baptist Center get to be a part of.

How can you help?

Immediately – We need volunteers for homework help on Tuesdays. (Remember, this is elementary homework – you can do it!)
– Our annual Safe, not Scary Halloween Party is October 28. Could you (or individuals from your church) run one of the games? It’s fun… you get to laugh, encourage children, and give out prizes! What could be cooler?!

What’s next – In November we will be sending a letter out to our churches and supporters about our annual Christmas party. This is a great time to share the blessings that God has given you with a child (or their family) who regularly attends Kids Club. There are a variety of ways to help at Christmas, so don’t hesitate to contact the Friendship Center with your interest.

If you have any questions or would like to be a part of Kids Club in some way, contact us at ministry@friendshipbaptistcenter.org or 515-244-1701.

The Friendship Center 100, as you may know by now, is a group of individuals who financially support the work and ministry of the Center.  The funds generated through FC 100 ensure uninterrupted ministry to children and youth through after school programs, a host of hunger ministries and many more community services.

Currently, FC 100 has about 60 members.  We would love to get to the 100 mark before our next quarterly get together (May 4th).

If you have not joined this growing group of donors, I would ask you to consider doing so today.  Your partnership in this work is vital to the success of these ongoing ministries of the Center.  We are grateful for so many who have already partnered and would love to answer any questions you have as you consider joining us as well.

Of course, all gifts to the Friendship Center are tax deductible within accordance to IRS guidelines, as the Center is a 501c3 classified non-profit organization.

Thank you for your prayers, your partnership and your impact in this community.

It’s happened! The last camp of the summer finally wrapped up. What’s that mean? Well, it means two things:
1) The Board is excited to invite you to our Volunteer Banquet on September 5 at 6 PM. This year we are inviting our volunteers, contributors, and members of this community to all come together to celebrate what God has done over the last 12 months. This is a night to thank your work for Jesus and this community. The Board will also take opportunity to share about the future. Our future is exciting. Don’t miss the Volunteer Banquet!

2) We are gearing up for an exciting fall here at the Friendship Baptist Center. All of our school year ministries begin: Kid’s Club, Disciples, Mom’s group, ESL, etc. Each of these ministries is a great time where this community and our churches team up to walk together in a particular area. If you are a regular giver to the Center or a member of the Friendship Center 100, thank you so much for making these ongoing ministries possible. As you give, we work together in this community to help, teach, grow, and seek Jesus. We do it together. Please continue to give and see how God will work through your gifts!

One last reminder: Our Interim Director, John Jakes is at the Center nearly everyday. You can contact the Center or the Board through him.
How? Through the phone: 515-244-1701
through email: ministry@friendshipbaptistcenter.org
or through our Facebook page. Don’t hesitate to contact him in any of these ways with questions or just to say hi. He would love to talk with you.

Back in January, Jon Jamison wrote about the bell that rings at Camp that tells everyone that they are going to change what they are doing.  On June 30th we heard that bell at the Center again.  We celebrated 18 years of ministry with Jon, Mindy, and Maggie.  Then, we prayed for them as God leads them to new opportunities in South Carolina.  Changes just keep coming, don’t they?!

One thing hasn’t changed: our commitment to minister here at the Friendship Baptist Center.  Beginning July 1, I (John Jakes) began to serve as our Interim Director.  Who is John Jakes?  I am a long time volunteer and pastor here in central Iowa.  I have been serving in Indianola at Calvary Baptist Church for the last 10 years.  My family and I have helped out at the Friendship Baptist Center for almost that entire time.  It is exciting to see how this community is growing and changing for God.  Last year, we saw over a dozen children pray to receive Christ.  We are just half-way through the summer and already we have seen five children make that commitment to Jesus.  There are two weeks of camp left!

I am excited about what is happening here at the Center over the rest of this summer.  We have two camps coming up that are being invested in by returning mission groups.  In August we will be seeing folks come for our community breakfasts every Tuesday.  We will be encouraging families with back-to-school supplies at our August Saturday supper, and we will be helping the hungry during the food distribution on the third Thursday in August.

We are also gearing up for fall as all of our school-year volunteers get ready to minister through Disciples, Kids Club, ESL and other great ministries.  If you’ve been involved in the past, let us know that you want to continue at ministry@friendshipbaptistcenter.org.  If you have been waiting to get involved, shoot me a note and we will get you involved!

Change does come.  Sometimes it makes us nervous.  I was just reading this week from Psalm 139:4-6.  David says of God, “Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all.” (4)  Like David, I am absolutely astounded that God knows it all even before I do or even think it.  That gives me confidence.  God is in control.  I can’t wait to see what He is going to do through His people at the Friendship Baptist Center!

John Jakes
Interim Director, Friendship Baptist Center

Throughout the day, a loud cowbell rings out as an indicator to transition to the next station during summer camp at the Center.  Everyone, campers and leaders alike, instinctively move to the next awaiting task.  Well, the bell is now ringing for the Center itself!

It’s time to transition.

The Friendship Baptist Center has a long history of more than 30 years of ministry engagement in poverty impacted communities in Des Moines.  All of these years have come under the direction and financial support of the Baptist Convention of Iowa and the North American Mission Board.  Recent strategy and funding changes have ushered the Center into a new era of ministry and partnership  –  Thus, the sounding of the bell.

Effective January 1, 2017, the Friendship Baptist Center will be a stand-alone nonprofit entity and will no longer be fully supported by the Baptist Convention of Iowa.  BCI will still continue to partner with the Center, but will no longer be the primary “owner” of the ministry.  Additionally, the staff of the Center will no longer be employed by the Baptist Convention of Iowa.  This means that the Center must generate its own budget for staff, ministry expenses and building and maintenance costs.

A Board of Directors, made up of Iowa Baptists, is already in place and will continue to lead and relate to Center staff.  As the work and ministry of the Center moves forward, you will be kept informed of ministry activity as well as being offering opportunities to engage more fully in the work in Des Moines.

Due to these changes, the Center now relies on partners for financial investment like never before in its history.  Partnerships with the Baptist Convention of Iowa, Metro Association, churches and individuals have already begun in an effort to ensure a lasting and fruitful impact through the Friendship Baptist Center.  If you would consider financially partnering with the Center, on a monthly basis, that would be most appreciated.

Thank you so much for your investment and involvement in this ministry!

Jon and Mindy Jamison

Friendship Baptist Center
1526 MLK Jr. Pkwy
PO Box 41188
Des Moines, IA 50314-1442
515.244.1701